Final Fantasy After XIII
by VnixxiR
Summary: While it wasn't quite the perfect happy ending, the former l'Cie do the best they can to live on. But now, a decade after the crystallization of Cocoon, yet again their world is threatened to be torn apart. -Warning: FLight, OCs and endgame spoilers-
1. Early to Rise

**Early to Rise

* * *

**

The crystal clear waters of Lake Oerba remained undisturbed by the flickers of sunlight spreading across it, dancing on it's surface. It was the lone swimmer approaching the edge of the water that marked the first movement of the day. The swimmer exited the cool lake and walked up the steps near a dock, towards a pile of what looked like a towel and clothes. Grabbing the towel and throwing it around their shoulders, the swimmer turned towards the growing source of light on the horizon. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the trees along the waterfront, and gently tickled at the damp pink locks of the early riser. With a small yet satisfied sigh, Lightning Farron turned from the sunrise and reached for her clothes to continue with the rest of her morning routine.

Though always having naturally been an early bird, Lightning actually appreciated mornings in Oerba Neo. At first it was hard to adjust to, having grown up in a bustling town where the line between dusk and dawn was never very clear. As Lightning walked up the ramp away from the waterfront and around to the main square of the village, she still found it amusingly bizarre that the loudest sounds were those of her feet—completely bare—on the ground beneath them.

Upon reaching a fork in the path, Lightning turned down the one that did not lead back to her own abode. Making her way down the alternate path and turning through a rather vibrant garden, she found herself standing at a door to a larger home. Before she could begin to think of the actual reason she had ended up there, the door swung open and she stood looking at what could have been a perfect replica of herself, a few years younger.

"Claire." A sleeping voice said through a yawn, "Good morning."

"Morning Serah, sorry I'm… I'm not sure-"

"Would you like some coffee?" Serah cut Lightning off—half to save the latter from wracking her brain so early in the morning and the other half to get out of the slightly chilly air that had begun to take up residence in the area, "Come inside." Not really waiting for an answer, the younger Farron grasped Lightning by the arm and led her in.

"You're still swimming in this weather?" Serah said through another small yawn, making her way into the kitchen to heat up some water, "I'm almost surprised you haven't gotten sick yet."

Lightning followed her sister into the kitchen, taking a seat at the counter across from her. She watched Serah as she shuffled around the kitchen. Though coming on 29 now, the younger Farron hadn't changed much physically. Yes, she'd grown to look like she was older than 14 but she hadn't been as lucky as Lightning in terms of height. Serah had decided to grow her hair out. No longer draped on her shoulder, the darker shade of pink locks hung in a loose pony-tail behind her, reaching almost to the small of her back. Said back suddenly disappeared from Lightning's view and was replaced by a rather large belly.

"Claire?"

"It never fails to throw me off, seeing you pregnant." Lightning admit aloud before she could really stop herself.

"And it never fails to amuse me." Serah quipped with a small rub of her tummy, "At least it's not twins." She added, staring lovingly down at her mid-section—as if it were already a living, breathing child out of her womb, "I love my boys but, I swear they've got my nose and the rest is all Snow."

"Thanks for the reminder." Lightning made another face.

"Oh as if that does anything to stop your from spoiling your sweet little nephews." Serah once again gave her stomach a rub, "You hear that baby girl? Don't you worry, no matter how much trouble you get in, you'll always have Auntie Claire spoiling you silly."

"I do not spoil them." A half-hearted attempt at defense.

"You gave Syd and Noah both a set of AMP devices." Serah stated, slipping a cup of coffee towards Lightning on the counter and taking a sip of her own cup of tea.

"I've told you, I made sure they were on minimum output settings," Lightning insisted, a smile dangerously close to crossing her lips, "They're safe."

"Claire," Serah gave the elder pinkette a raised eyebrow, "They're 7." The younger Farron did not miss the small smile flash across her sister's lips as she looked away. She couldn't help but smile herself, "Honestly, the trouble they give Snow sometimes—it's like taking care of a third child."

"Father-son bonding is a wonderful thing-"

"Oh, don't give me that, missy," Serah wagged a finger at the other pinkette, "As if you hadn't planned on the boys making Snow their little test dummy." Lightning actually let out a controlled laugh at the notion. While completely and entirely true, hearing it in those words—from Serah's mouth—amused her greatly.

She was saved from additional scolding from her younger sister as a loud thump followed by excited banter between children was heard near the staircase outside the kitchen. This, followed by a deep booming string of amusingly-censored, non-child-safe words caused both Farron siblings to turn toward the entrance of the kitchen.

"Speak of the little devils." Lightning feigned a surprised look, resisting the urge to laugh at Serah's rolling eyes.

"Did you see that? Did you see that?"

"That was sooo cool! I think he went higher than before!"

Both Serah and Lightning turned to see two young boys rush into the kitchen. They were almost identically dressed in tousled pajamas; both their pink-tinged blonde hair ruffled; and the same giant grin was plastered on both their faces.

"Boys!" Yet another voice rang through the air. The tired tone, laced with what sounded like frustration caused Lighting to smile wider.

"Uh oh, Dad's mad." One of the twins stated the not-so-obvious.

"It was your idea-"

"What? You're the one who said to use his hat!"

Lightning turned to Serah who just folded her arms and shook her had. _Don't you look at me, Claire. This is your doing, you do something about it._ Lightning could practically hear the younger Farron's thoughts as she turned back towards the arguing twins, moving from her seat, the sound somehow catching their attention.

"Boys-"

"Auntie Claire!" The both of them said in unison, forgetting their quarrel, before practically tackling her to the ground. She let out a small chuckle as she knelt down in front of them as they began bombarding her with the tale of minutes prior, which somehow involved Snow getting his hand stuck in the ceiling. While she felt a small sense of victory, she also felt her younger sister's eyes burning into her back.

"Now boys, what did I tell you about using the AMP devices." Lightning forced a stern voice, "It's not to be abused—remember how I said it was proof that I trusted you with their power? What if you had gotten hurt?" The two boys calmed themselves, looking at the ground with guilty eyes.

"Sorry Auntie Claire." They both chimed at the same time. Lightning almost cooed as she ruffled both their hair.

"It's alright boys, but is it really me you should be apologizing to?" The twins shook their heads and looked towards the stairs, "If anything, I think at least your father would need help getting himself down from the ceiling-"

"Claire!" Serah's frustrated voice cut off any excited response the twins could give before throwing Lightning another look of disapproval before moving to shoo her sons out of the kitchen, "Come on you two, go apologize to daddy and wash up for breakfast."

"Ok mommy!" With that, the twins bounded back upstairs.

"And you-" The smaller woman pointed an accusing finger at Lighting but couldn't finish when she saw the soft expression on Lightning's face as she followed the boys retreating out of view. Shoulders slumping, Serah let out a sigh, shaking her head and returning to the kitchen counter. Soon after, Light had followed her and returned to her seat to finish her coffee.

Serah, while proceeding to prepare breakfast, threw the occasional glance at her older sister. What she wouldn't do to see Lighting with the expression she had on just moments before more often. She did admit that the elder Farron had gotten… better. Memories of nearer events on Cocoon took form in a frown that touched Serah's lips. A frown that lasted a mere second but was not quick enough to escape the notice of its indirect cause.

"What's wrong?" Lightning asked, catching Serah's eye.

"Oh, nothing." Serah lied—though immediately regretted it due to her vast experience in being caught in such lies by the woman sitting across from her. As if reading her thoughts Lightning raised an eyebrow quizzically, waiting for an answer—the 'correct' answer.

"It's just…" Serah struggled to find words as she struggled to peel the fruit in her hands. Lightning grabbed the distraction away from her and gracefully began shedding it of it's outer layer, "When I see you with the boys… when I see you smile, it makes me happy. You should smile more often Claire, it suits you." There was an ever-so-slight pause in Lighting's hand movements but Serah wasn't quite as perceptive so it remained unnoticed by the younger Farron, "It's not even just about you smiling Claire, You look genuinely happy—and I don't mean you've never been happy before." She quickly added when she saw her sister open her mouth to interrupt, "Just… I'm glad."

"You're talking like I've been in some deep depression or something."

_Haven't you? Ever since…_ While she dared not say it aloud and chose to humor her older sister's attempt to brush off a still-sensitive subject with a chuckle, Serah couldn't help but see a truth in Lightning's jest.

Ever since the incident a decade ago she'd seen two vastly different sides of Lightning. It pained her to watch her sister the first few years after the crystallization of Cocoon. Yes, it hadn't been the perfect happy ending but to say Lightning did not take well to losing two of their own would be an understatement of epic proportions. In true Lightning Farron fashion, the soldier had hidden it well but she hurt on a whole different level from the other l'Cie. Serah had sensed this but didn't know how to handle it. Lightning's actions—fueled by anger and sorrow, and Serah's lack-of-action—due to inability truly understand, caused great strain on their relationship. And it was no doubt the same between Lightning and the other members of their extended family.

"You know, for talking to about me smiling more, you're certainly frowning a lot this morning." The elder Farron in question snapped her back to reality, holding a perfectly peeled fruit in her hand.

"I-"

"Alright then! A couple little rug rats told me there may be food down here!" Another voice made its way into the conversation. Both sisters turned to see Snow making his way into the kitchen, said 'rug rats' under each of his arms. He reached Serah and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before placing the twins at their seats at the table, "Morning sis!"

"Morning Snow," Lightning responded, staring mock-credulously at his bandaged right hand, "What happened to your hand?" Serah once again rolled her eyes as Snow began to explain his side of the twins' earlier tale. She couldn't help herself from laughing at his version though. Apparently the twins had neglected to include that his boxers were also involved—much to Lightning's distaste.

"Oh hey, the boys and I are going with a couple of kids from the orphanage on a fishing trip with Sazh, ya wanna come along?" Snow asked the elder Farron, unfettered by the obvious amusement in both sisters' faces at his expense, "The kids would love it."

"Yeah, come Auntie Claire!" Syd spoke up.

"Yeah, come Auntie Claire!" Noah echoed.

Lightning broke into another small smile at the two boys who's eyes shone with an excitement that looked like little fireworks behind the deep blue orbs. She shook her head apologetically.

"I'm sorry boys, I have to go into the city today for a while." She explained.

"Already? I thought you were on leave for a while this time." Serah spoke up, handing Snow another plate of food to put on the table. Her eyes however, remained on Lightning.

"Me too, but it was a request from Amodar." The older pinkette elaborated without going into too much detail. Even if she had, she knew it would not neutralize the slight anxiety she saw in her sister's eyes. She was aware of Serah's adversity to her remaining in the military—even if it were unrelated to her previous place in the Guardian Corps. But Lightning was not the type to remain idle for long. Yes, she enjoyed peace and tranquility as much as the next person but training to survive, serving to protect had grown to be a part of her. A part that she—despite her love for her friends and family in Oerba Neo—couldn't ignore.

"Speaking of which, I should probably get going, the shuttle is picking me up in a under an hour."

"You're not going to stay for breakfast?" Serah questioned. Lightning shook her head, gathering the towel she'd draped on the back of the stood she'd been sitting on. She moved towards the two boys and gave both their hair a ruffle.

"Oh c'mon sis! You gotta eat something!" Snow insisted as she threw the towel over her shoulder.

"I really can't, but thank you." At this point, Serah had made her way over and practically threw herself on the older pinkette, "Easy there, Serah..." Lighting chuckled, motioning to her sister's stomach after they pulled away from each other.

"You better not wait two weeks to call me again, Claire." The younger Farron demanded, her eyes flashing with a zeal that even Lightning could not ignore.

"I promise, Serah." She maneuvered herself around the pregnant woman, easing her into her seat at the table before leaning down and kissing her temple. She turned once more to the twins who were on the verge of an all-out food war, "I don't have to tell you two to take care of your mother and baby sister, right?"

"We will Auntie Claire!"

"Yeah Auntie Claire! We'll take good care of them!" Syd accentuated the statement, reaching over and touching his mother's stomach himself. Lightning gave an affirming nod before turning towards the door.

"Hey! What about me!" Snow asked, halting the departing woman in her tracks. She turned to Snow, eyebrow raised. He just looked at her expectantly. Clicking her tongue she cleared her throat.

"Boys did you know, on those AMP devices I gave you; if you adjust the setting just right, you can-"

"Claire!" Serah interrupted Lightning with an accusing yelp of disapproval. The pinkette in question was also apparently just within swatting range. Lightning just gave a chuckle before continuing towards the door. She gave one last look at the family—her family—before pulling open the door and leaving the warmth, stepping back into the frosty air outside.

Taking a deep breath for a reason she wasn't aware of—nor thought to question, Lightning set off towards her own home to finish packing.

* * *

**A/N:**

I own nothing from **_FFXIII_**. I just like to play with the characters.

Whew, first chapter up. Damn it's long =_=;;  
Hopefully I'll update regularly. I'm rather excited about this one.  
I'll be taking my time with this one. There will eventually be some fun FLight lovin' goodness but there's also a whole other story involve which I want to tell.  
So yes... Patience, young grasshoppers =]

Oh also, before I forget, some random art I did for this story can be viewed on my dA page if any are interested ^^


	2. Old Habits

**Old Habits

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**

_"Again, I feel pretty bad bringing you out here so soon-"_

"It's not a problem, Amodar," Lightning spoke into the communication device held between her cheek and shoulder as she closed the door to her home and placed the rather large duffel bag in her other hand on the porch near the stairs, "You know me, too much quiet makes me restless."

_"I know you still don't know how to take it easy, Farron—you've gotten better but you could stand to relax a little more."_

"Says the man who called me back in during the middle of my leave." Lightning retorted half-jokingly. Her former superior office chuckled on the other end of the line. Now with a free hand, the pinkette grasped the comm. device and pulled it over to her other ear.

_"I wouldn't have called you out if I didn't think it were completely necessary."_

"I know." Lightning voiced in unnecessary agreement at the serious tone now in Amodar's voice. She heard a separate voice in the background, followed by Amodar's affirmative response to whoever it belonged to.

_"Just got word from the shuttle, it should be arriving in Oerba Neo any minute now."_

"Right." Lightning, "Heading out."

_"See you when you get here, Farron—and please, no taking over the shuttle to get here faster, unless you feel like training another pilot..."_

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Lightning rubbed one of her temples, making a face at the memory she'd have rather forgotten as Amodar let out a hearty laugh.

_"You pretty much traumatized that poor boy, Farron. And let's not forget what you managed to do to the shuttle, I can't say I've ever seen metal bend that way-"_

"I was young and stupid, Amodar." Lightning defended half-heartedly. It was the truth but it didn't make her feel any less shame, "I promise, no hijacking."

_"Good. Well I'll let you go, the Council is meeting in a few."_

"Alright, say hello to Bartholomew for me."

_"Will do."_

With a small click, Lightning closed the comm. device and slipped it in her pocket. Having found herself leaning against the porch railing, facing the house, she caught herself in one of the windows. _Young and stupid._ The phrase re-entered her mind as she took in her reflection.

By her appearance, one would probably find it difficult to believe she was 31. While still in the military, Lightning saw significantly less action in the recent years but it didn't mean she'd not kept up with her own training. Additionally, since she'd taken up swimming, her body had changed slightly. While in her younger years she'd been built for speed—retaining a softness in her frame—now her body was taught, even more toned. She had… hardened—if one had to pick a single word to describe the change. Yes, time had not been terrible to Lightning. She hardly looked like she'd aged at all during the past decade—other than perhaps the hint of crow's feet at the edge of the brilliant blue eye that wasn't covered by the protective eye patch.

Eye patch. The pinkette raised her hand to trace the skin around it. _Young and stupid indeed-_

"Ah great! I thought I'd missed you." A voice from behind caught her attention. Lightning turned to find Sazh walking towards her along the path leading to her porch steps, "Just leaving, I see?"

"Yes." Lightning nodded as she moved to grab her duffel, swinging it over her shoulder and making her way towards Sazh. He didn't bother asking to take her bag. Why bother asking something you knew the answer to? And there was no doubt in his mind that Lightning's answer would most definitely have been 'no'.

"Mind if I walk with you?"

"Not at all." Lightning shook her head as the two of them began walking the path towards the edge of Oerba Neo. It was barely a walk since Lightning had chosen the home nearest the edge of the village to take up residence in.

"How long are you gone for this time?" The ex-pilot asked.

"Not sure, I wasn't given a lot of details." Lightning informed with a small shrug, "I figured since it was Amodar it was something important and probably better to be discussed in person."

"Hmmm." Sazh hummed in acknowledgment.

It had been 10 years and Lightning was still never completely comfortable talking with Sazh. It had been easier to avoid topics of conversation with the others. Even Serah was easier to deal with—she could just play the older sister card. It's not as if she really had anything to hide but Sazh had an uncanny way of extracting the truth out of people that even they hadn't recognized or accepted.

"I heard you were going on a fishing trip with the children." Lightning spoke to fill the silence.

"Yeah, figured we'd take one before it got too cold." Sazh explained, "Can't say the kids won't be disappointed that their Auntie Claire can't make it."

"I'm sorry."

"I know you are, Claire-" Oh here it comes. Lightning actually felt her body tense at the promise of a 'but' in his sentence, "But don't you think you're a little old to be avoiding things by running away?"

"Did you just call me old?" Lightning quipped—half serious, half covering. The ex-pilot chuckled but his voice remained somber.

"You know that's not what I meant, Claire." Lightning allowed herself to glance over at him. His eyes were on the ground in front of him, his hands had moved to bury themselves in the pockets of his coat. His well-aged features showed an expression of worry that Lightning rarely saw anymore. While she'd previously had either ignored it or yelled him out about it, she actually felt a appreciation for the man that acted as the father of her family.

"It's been almost exactly 10 years huh?" She spoke, confirming what his voice seemed to be implying, "Sazh, I'm not running off to avoid the fact that it's coming up to the 10 year mark of the crystallization of Cocoon."

_Yet it's always 'the crystallization of Cocoon' when you talk about it—you never mention their names_. While Sazh always found it best to speak the truth, it did not mean he didn't know when to hold his tongue. And he couldn't deny that the soldier had come a long way since then.

In years previous, she had refused to talk about it—with anyone—to the point of almost denying it had happened. She'd buried herself in her grief and it had proven to be devastating. His eyes flashed to the protective patch over Lightning's right eye. But slowly, she had started to heal. She allowed herself to be comforted—to a extent—and gradually she let go of enough grief to be able to talk a little about her pain.

Lightning, who had been observing the thoughtful look on Sazh's face out the corner of her eye, sighed heavily. Having half her vision didn't at all hinder her ability to notice the smallest things. She hadn't failed to catch Sazh throwing a glance at her eye patch. The pinkette figured she'd have gotten used to it now; the eggshells that seemed to appear around her this particular time of year. Yes, she had gotten more comfortable sharing with others but that didn't make her a share-bear willing to spill her heart and soul. No, that just wasn't in her nature—it never would be. And like how she was learning to be more open, the others would just have to learn to accept it.

Turning one last corner on the path, Lightning and Sazh were greeted by the small shuttle grounded on the Oerba Neo docking pad.

"Oh, before I forget… if you get a chance to see Dajh…" Sazh began but trailed off. Lightning looked over at him. While Sazh's personality didn't exactly radiate sugar and rainbows, he was generally positive in his outlook of things. Which is why the present dark look on his face was enough to have Lightning place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'll give him your regards." She accepted his unspoken request with a reassuring squeeze of her hand.

"Well, don't be a stranger, y'hear?" The older man said, a warm smile replacing the slight frown on his face.

"I won't." Lightning assured him sincerely before giving a small wave and continuing towards the shuttle. There was no awkward moment of deciding whether or not to hug. Lightning was not a hugger, nor was she one to spend longer than necessary on goodbyes—Sazh knew this. His ability to see through most—if not all—of Lightning's actions had both it's good and bad sides. While he was usually the first to call her on her untruthfulness, he also knew when not to push it and back off. The soldier was somewhat grateful for this.

With one last look at the man waving from the edge of the landing pad, Lighting slipped into the shuttle, dropping her duffel on one of the nearest seats and taking the window seat next to it. As the shuttle silently rose from the landing pad she estimated the travel time to be around 20 or so minutes give or take. As she was pulled away from the ground and eventually from Oerba Neo her eye drifted toward her destination. It wasn't hard to miss—being located right under a giant sphere the size of a moon, perched upon a crystal pillar.

Crystallinus. The Crystal City. Still relatively small yet ever-expanding, the city looked as though it were just a extension of the crystal mass that supported the now-unoccupied Cocoon. Built from a cross between salvaged remnants of the humans' past world and new energy and material provided by the crystal; Crystallinus was the pride and joy of what was left of the Sanctum's Guardian Corps. Even in the morning, where no light but the one from the sun was needed, the city sparkled. It glimmered like a gem among the natural, rough, crude terrain of Gran Pulse.

Being somewhat involved in the creation and growth of Crystallinus, Lightning had developed a sense of pride whenever she had the chance to take in the Crystal City as a whole, from a distance. A city built entirely by humans; not handed to them then controlled by a higher being like in the past.

However, as the shuttle continued flying smoothly towards the gleaming expanse, the pinkette was reminded of something she'd observed in the more recent years. While the founders and inhabitants of Crystallinus built it with every intention to make Gran Pulse their new home, Lightning couldn't help but notice how much the city of crystal had begun to remind her of Eden, Cocoon's capital.

* * *

**A/N:**

I own nothing from **_FFXIII_**. I just like to play with the characters.

To say this chapter was a pain to complete... would be an understatement =_=;;  
Had it all planned out but nooooo, the moment I try and write a proper chapter out of it... ugh  
I'm still not sure whether I'm happy with it or not but if I put off uploading any longer it'd just keep sitting on my computer gathering pixel-dust =\  
SO... yes. And before all of the _"but why this"_s and _"but why that"_s -it's the second chapter _ gimmie a break, yeah?


	3. Back to Barracks

**Back to Barracks

* * *

**

"Abel! Katzroy! Move it! I've seen alraune move faster than you!"

The two military recruits in question were presently panting, practically breathless, scrambling their way through their fourth and final run of the obstacle course.

Dajh Katzroy let out a puffing laugh half way up the 20-foot rope-net, "Y'know I think I'm impressed…" The 19-year-old Neo Oerban panted, "…that he even knows…" Another pant as he lugged himself up another 2 feet, "…what an alraune is."

To his left, his fellow trainee Denzel Abel let out a strained scoff in response as he pulled himself up onto the platform before reaching down and helping Dajh up.

"Memories of his past life?" The two of them laughed again before grasping at the overhead bars that spanned a gap of about 15 feet.

"Y'know, I thought I saw a flower spring outta his head a couple times while he's been pissed." Dajh continued to jest as they swung themselves to the other end of the bars.

"He **IS** a flower!" Denzel added, "Seriously, the colors his face turns…" With a last gasping laugh, the two recruits swung off the bars and landed on the finishing platform, completing their run. They slapped each other a high-five before climbing down the ladder back towards the ground.

Dajh had become fast friends with Denzel on the very first day of training. You wouldn't have thought so with the way they looked and carried themselves. Dajh, who had significantly grown in the last 10 years, was still slightly shorter than average but made up for it with a rather brawny built. He had decided to shave the thick hair that seemed to run in his family after entering the military training program.

Denzel was pretty much the total opposite. The Crystallinus native stood about half a foot taller than Dajh with a much leaner, almost-but-not-quite scrawny frame. He did not sport a buzz-cut like his fellow recruit; his auburn hair remained relatively long, falling in waves towards the back of his head. But his navy blue eyes sparkled with a child-like liveliness that reflected the one in Dajh's hazel ones.

That's what it was. Though different in every other way, the both of them were both jokers. They knew how to have fun and didn't let anything stop them from doing so—temporary supervising Lance-Corporal or not.

"If you two spent half the time concentrating on your training as you did yapping, you'd probably cut your times in half." Said military official barked, making his way over to the two of them. They straightened up but did not hide the broad smiles on their faces, "Wipe those grins of your faces, do you two ever take anything seriously?"

"Sir, or course we do, sir!" Dajh responded, forcing the smile from his lips.

"Sir, permission to speak freely sir." Denzel asked, also suppressing his smirk. Their superior's eyes narrowed at the taller boy.

"What is it Abel?"

"Have you actually ran alraune through the course? You'd think they'd have a little trouble with the overhead bars."

"Maybe they actually have control of the flowers on the top of their heads?" Dajh spoke up, voice completely serious, "I mean, they're as big as their bodies—who knows what they hide in there!"

"What, like arms and hands? Little, tiny arms and hands?" Denzel gasped, a shocked expression crossing his features. All the while, an expression of something short of pure rage cross the face of the Lance-Corporal in front of them.

"I think tentacles are more likely—they've got the whole slimy slug thing going on-"

"THAT'S IT!" Their superior boomed, jabbing a finger at Denzel, "20 laps around the obstacle course! NOW!" The boys broke out into stifled laugher as they moved away from the fuming Lance-Corporal, "Oh no you don't Katzroy." Dajh was halted by the a clipboard against his chest, "You drop and give me 50." Accusing finger now aimed at the ground. Sharing both a tired yet amused look, the boys separated; Denzel jogging off while Dajh lowered himself into his punishment of 50 pushups.

As he got to his 20th pushup or so, he noticed someone approaching the officer from the side of the training grounds. From his view so close to the ground he could only see that they wore the same trainee uniform as he did. A new recruit? His superior, apparently also noticing the new arrival, turned away giving him the opportunity to pause mid-pushup to get a better look.

"Are you lost?" The Lance-Corporal—unable to hide his frustration—asked the young woman standing in front of him with a duffel slung over her shoulder. Dajh continued to observe as she handed the officer some papers. After a moment of scanning it's contents, he folded it and handed it back to her, "DeFluo, huh? There any particular reason for such a late transfer?" The woman didn't answer, "Quiet type huh?" He shot a look at Dajh who quickly busied himself, returning to his pushups, "Can't say I'm not thankful for that. Feel like running the course?" The military official motioned over his shoulder, "4 rounds, timed."

Finishing his punishment, Dajh rolled into a sitting position, leaning back on his arms while he watched the woman make her way to the start of the course. Unfortunately for her, another member of his class—the top of the class to be more specific—Lozieg Kadaj was also preparing for his run through. And to say that Lozieg was a competitive ass would be an understatement.

Placing his chin on his hand he watched with increasing interest as the Lace-Corporal moved to start the timer. Dajh didn't need to be within hearing range to see the man already taunting the new addition to the class. It didn't help any that this… DeFluo… was female either.

Dajh felt a strange amusement in the situation. It was like almost like a bad cliché: Ace of the class (usually an alpha-male type) taunts the new kid (either a smaller male or an attractive female). Dajh had only seen her up close for a moment but from what he could see from his view presently, he decided she couldn't be entirely bad-looking. He could see the ending now as he completed the formula in his head. In most outcomes, the Ace usually—for lack of a better phrase—has their asses handed to them by the new kid.

But while Dajh had somewhat of an expectation of this in terms of Loz and DeFluo, he had to admit Lozieg wasn't completely all talk. Not only was he well-built for strength training, he was fast. He held the time closest to the current record for fastest completion of that particular obstacle course—a mere 4 seconds off to be precise.

As the starting mark went off Lozieg wasted no time and dashed ahead. DeFluo followed, keeping a decent speed but most definitely falling behind as she started through the low-crawl netting. Dajh found himself surprised at her lack of speed as Lozieg continued to increase the gap between them. He'd almost finished his first round while the new arrival was barely two thirds the way through hers. Correction, Lozieg was pretty much caught up to her. By the time DeFluo finished her first round, completing the overhead bars, he had over passed her.

"Don't hurt yourself newbie." Lozieg taunted but received no response. Rolling his eyes, Dajh observed DeFluo with even more curiosity. She didn't seem to be struggling—nor did she seem particularly concentrated. Was she trying? With a small sigh, Dajh resigned to the disappointment he felt. That was no fun, she hadn't even put up a fight.

"Gonna pick it up anytime soon, DeFluo?" The Lance-Corporal barked half-heartedly. Dajh could have sworn he heard pity in the man's voice. Ouch.

"Y'know contrary to popular belief, yelling at someone isn't always the most effective way to get them to do what you want."

"Shut it, Katzroy," Came a snappish response, "If I wanted your opinion-"

"Yeah, yeah," Dajh picked himself up off the ground, dusting off his pants, "You'd have me drop and give you another 50 before asking for it, then disregard it anyway." He mumbled as he searched the field for Denzel. He laughed as he noticed him plodding away on the far side. His laughter faded quickly however, as he noticed Denzel come to a full stop. He hadn't finished his laps yet, so why…?

Following his friends gaze, his eye landed back on the two still tackling the obstacle course. One of his eyebrows shot up as he saw that Defluo had regained the lap she had lost to Lozieg and the both of them were neck and neck on their final round. What caused the corner of his mouth to mimic the action of his eyebrow was that Lozieg was clearly not happy. He most definitely was not taking well to the fact that his competition had retaken an entire lap without breaking a sweat. In fact, DeFluo looked as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Other than shortened, shallower breaths, her unconcerned, nonchalant look had not changed.

As the two of them were coming up on the overhead bars, the smaller of the two had pulled ahead. As the both of them began swinging towards the finishing mark, Dajh watched—with admittedly very little surprise—as Lozieg launched himself towards DeFluo. No doubt with every intention to prevent anyone from touching his precious position as fastest in class. Wincing, expecting her to fall—or at least voice a pained reaction to the contact—Dajh was surprised when the woman deftly swung backwards, evading the attempt to impede her course completion.

Between the initial incredulity of what had just happened and the irritated rants of the instruction officer aimed at the cheap and ultimately useless maneuver, Dajh almost missed the supposed victim's reaction. Hesitating for only a split second over Lozieg as he hit the ground hard, DeFluo spoke for the first time since she'd arrived, "Don't hurt yourself, tough guy."

At that point, Dajh had decided he liked DeFluo—of course, anyone who could ruffle Lozieg's feathers was okay in his book; but he found himself wandering over to officially greet her. Or at least to get in a poke at Lozieg's most-definitely bruised ego. He picked up his pace as he noticed the sore loser advancing on the woman. He just didn't know when to quit. Dajh reached the two of them just as Lozieg had grabbed her arm.

"Hey, Loz… that was a pretty wild display of acrobatics on the bars just now, I dare say that was a circus-grade performance."

"Piss off Katzroy." Lozieg must have been pretty furious to have ignored a remark with that particular caliber of snark. This could not end well.

"C'mon you literally throw yourself at the girl and now you wanna hold hands?" Dajh continued to jest, attempting to divert his attention away from DeFluo who had turned to eye his hand wrapped around her arm, "C'mon man, let's just-" He was interrupted when he felt the taller recruit's fist make contact with his jaw. He had jerked away on reflex but not fast enough to completely avoid the blow. He stumbled to the side, a hand instinctively cradling the side his face.

"I said piss off!"

"HEY! ENOUGH!" The Lance-Corporal stopped everyone's movements. He pushed past DeFluo and waved his clipboard dangerously close to Lozieg's face, "You, barracks, now." Lozieg didn't move right away but he didn't wait long enough to be told twice. Muttering a string of expletives under his breath he trudged away. Dajh watched as his superior gave DeFluo a quick look before turning to him, "And you…" He waited for a number of push ups to be given to him, "Go find some ice to put on your face." With that, the Lance-Corporal turned and moved away, repeating a similar set of expletives voiced by the previously departed.

Dajh, recovering from the blow to the face, turned to find himself looking into blue-green eyes. One blue, one green—to be more specific. _Heterochromia?_ He opened his mouth to say something but the owner of said eyes interrupted him.

"You shouldn't have interfered." DeFluo's voice had a finality that prevented Dajh from responding. Her tone clearly implied that she hadn't been interested in one anyway. Dajh only watched as she turned and started off towards her bag. He hadn't noticed Denzel jogging over to him.

"What was that all about?" Dajh looked over at his friend.

"Huh?"

"Okay… how about you start with how you suddenly enjoy hurting people's fists with your face?" Denzel teased with a raised eyebrow, "Or how you've randomly taken to saving damsels in not-so-distress?" Denzel's mocking descriptions of the recent events ironically helped Dajh recover from the bewilderment he suddenly found himself feeling.

"What the hell are you talking about, man!" He playfully punched the taller recruit's shoulder and was returned the favor as he looked back over in the direction DeFluo had left in. He wasn't entirely sure how to answer his friend's questions. How could he explain how someone he'd barely met for two seconds reminded him intensely of someone he couldn't quite place?

* * *

**A/N:**

I own nothing from **_FFXIII_**. I just like to play with the characters.

Ohmigod! Dajh!  
Ohmigod! OCs!  
Hey, hey, you were warned okay? Bear with them for now, yeh?

Ah Dajh... such a snarky little bugger X3  
So fun to write him speak ^^


	4. Caught Up

**Caught Up

* * *

**

Lightning approached the main building of the CRYSIS Corps. training facility. Having the clearance to continue through Crystallinus, the shuttle had flown directly to the training facility to drop her off. Large enough to be its own district, the CRYSIS Corps. HQ was actually located nearest the base of Cocoon's crystal pedestal. Spanning a good few miles across, the base of operations was what linked the rest of Crystallinus to the crystal pillar. The CRYSIS Corps. Training Facility was tucked away in the corner, farthest from the HQ main gate.

Drawing nearer the administration building, Lightning found a member of military personnel waiting outside. While relaxed, leaning against one of the crystal pillars outside the double doors, his uniform was crisp, his posture firm giving off a seriousness that didn't suit the age he looked—and he looked like couldn't have been much older than twenty. His light hair was gelled back leaving only a few bangs to fall against his forehead. Though handsomely defined, his face hinted a small softness that gave away his youth.

At noticing Lightning approach, he straightened up almost immediately, giving a formal salute, "Good morning, Sergeant Major." He greeted her in military fashion, by her rank.

Lightning returned the gesture only hers was accompanied by the smallest of amused smiles, "Morning, Sir." She laughed inside at the falter in his stiff demeanor as she emphasized the salutation.

"Are you ever going to stop teasing me about my rank, Light?"

"Well, technically you are my superior, Sir," Lightning argued in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, "And by an entire new rank as of yesterday." She motioned to the double-crystalloid emblem embedded in the collar and sleeves of his uniform. The man, pinked slightly in the face as she did so, "Congratulations on making First-Lieutenant, Hope."

"Thanks, Light." Hope beamed, allowing the military man to fade away for a moment.

As the two of them moved to enter the training facility, Lightning found herself still impressed by Hope's growth. Over the last decade Hope had gone through a rather remarkable growth spurt. Now pushing 6 feet in height, with a build only slightly smaller than Snow's, the First-Lieutenant was no longer the little boy that followed Lightning around like a lost puppy.

But just as, if not more notable than his physical growth, was his growth as a person and member of the CRYSIS Corp. Reaching the rank of First-Lieutenant at the age of 24 was no small feat. And Hope had done so with such strength and grace, Lightning couldn't help but feel an almost motherly pride wherever he was concerned.

"Is your father celebrating with you?" The Sergeant Major continued the conversation, "Throwing you a party, perhaps?"

"Oh Etro, I hope not." Hope groaned, shaking his head rather violently, "You remember my 21st birthday. My father and festivity-planning were not made to exist in the same sentence." Lightning allowed a chuckle. If anyone could be more proud of Hope than she it would be—and understandably so—Hope's father, Bartholomew. 'Over the top' had not been in the senior Estheim's mind when he had organized a birthday bash for his son's 21st. It had even managed to impress Lightning, who most definitely was NOT a party-person. Birthdays—particularly 21sts—held a special place in her heart she wasn't very fond of.

"Best birthday ever?" Lightning quipped, good-naturedly. Her response was a look of pleading from the other soldier, "Well, you certainly displayed a rather interesting interpretation of the Cactuar dance..." Another pained groan.

"I'm sticking to the theory that since I don't remember it, it never happened." Hope mumbled, still shaking his head, "But since you seem to bring it up often enough..."

"My apologies First-Lieutenant Estheim, Sir." Lightning cleared her throat, hiding the amused look on her face but not the one in her eye.

"Feel free, any time now, to stop teasing me about that too." Hope mumbled through a sigh.

Inwardly, the young man was a strange sort of happy that Lightning felt comfortable enough around him to joke and tease. Military ranks meant nothing in his opinion between himself and the woman he was walking alongside. Lightning would always be his hero and dear friend.

Hope's relationship with Lightning had really been put to the test after Cocoon's crystallization. Still a child at the time, he couldn't quite grasp the idea that the only person who could console Lightning and help her heal, was the pinkette herself. Gradually, as he grew, Lightning did as well—healing herself in the process. And while Hope would always remain regretful that he couldn't save her then, his admiration for the woman only grew more.

"You too?" Lightning's mumbled voice brought him out of his reminiscing, "First Serah, then Sazh—now you…"

"Hmm?" The First-Lieutenant blinked, throwing a questioning look at the Sergeant Major who just shook her head in response. Lightning had noticed the strange look on Hope's face as he had fallen into thought. It was the same look she'd seen on both Serah and Sazh earlier that morning. Even though it was Hope who she arguably felt the most comfortable and open with, she couldn't help but feel a small flash of frustration licking at the back of her mind.

"How is everyone at home?" Hope asked, diverting the flow of the conversation slightly. He knew that pushing Lightning for answers she obviously didn't want to give, was pointless.

"Everyone's fine, Sazh had planned a fishing trip with the children today."

"Ah yes, Sazh's fishing trips, those were always fun—though I can't say I envy being stuck on a boat with almost a dozen children with 5-foot poles and fishing lines for half the day." Hope chuckled, "Syd and Noah are going too, I assume?" Lightning answered with a nod, "Serah's no doubt got enough to handle lately with the new baby and all—she's what, going into her 7th month now?"

"6 months, 2 weeks and 4 days." Lightning's recitation of exact time of her sister's pregnancy enticed another chuckle from Hope.

"Already counting down the days until you have a little niece you can spoil silly?"

"I do not spoil them!" Lightning defended with vigor. Why did everybody say that?

"Light, you gave the boys-"

"AMP devices, so Serah reminds me every time I see them." Lightning turned away, shaking her head, "It's not my fault whenever chocobo chicks were brought up as a gift, she got difficult." The pinkette turned back to hope, wagging a finger and shaking her head, "_'You can't get the boys chocobo chicks! Chocobo chicks are sooo last decade!'_ she says." At that point Hope couldn't hold back a full-on, heart-felt laugh at elder Farron's eerily-accurate impression of her younger sister. Lightning, to say the least, was visibly not quite as amused.

"Thinking about it, she did have a point though," Hope started, after calming himself, "I don't think I know of anyone who's raised a chocobo from chick to adult except for Dajh with Nebu."

"Speaking of Dajh…" Lighting remembered her conversation with Sazh that morning. Hope's expression turned as serious as her own.

"Sazh still hasn't heard anything?" The taller of the two asked. Lightning shook her head. The two of them had come to a windowed overpass leading to the administration office. It crossed over part of the training grounds, most specifically the sparring rings and obstacle courses. Lightning found herself slowing down as she observed the few trainees below.

"I'll need to have a talk with Dajh, eventually." Lightning stated, her eye drifting from the sparring rings to the obstacle courses.

"Easier than you think," Hope spoke, "Speaking of which, they're probably something you should know…"

Lightning had been trying to concentrate on the conversation with Hope but found something bizarrely fascinating about watching new recruits train. She slowly found his voice fading before it reached her ears. But just as she was about to pull away from the window, her eye caught something on the edge of the course. Something that made her stop dead in her tracks. She only saw it for a second but it was long enough to where she couldn't exactly deny it.

A lump formed in her throat as doubt and disbelief started coiling itself around her heartstrings. _It couldn't have been… There is no way in hell… _Lightning shook her head, clenching her jaw. Great, now she was seeing things. It was all the eggshells that had been danced upon today, she reasoned. All the damn worried looks given to her by her family that forced her to remember the anniversary of Cocoon's crystal encasement. _Their _crystal encasement-

"Light!" Hope's hand on her shoulder brought her back to her senses. However the worried look on his face only seemed to irk Lightning more, "Are you-?"

"We'd best not keep Amodar waiting." She stated more than suggested, ignoring the goosebumps that had suddenly spread like flames across her body. She pulled away from the window and continued down the walkway, leaving Hope staring after her.

With a quick, curious glance at the window the pinkette been staring through, the First-Lieutenant took full advantage of his longer stride to catch up. For a span of seconds, the Hope had flown back 10 years to when he remained helpless, following Lightning. Always behind, staring at her back.

* * *

**A/N:**

I own nothing from **_FFXIII_**. I just like to play with the characters.

GRAAAAAH  
I'm really not a Hope-fan but... this is me challenging myself _  
Or maybe it's just me making up for his lack of cool (in my opinion-sorry Hope-fans) in the game _ I'm sorry, please don't hurt me...  
I'm totally not military savvy but I tried to get ranks and things as accurate as possible. Besides, it's Gran Pulse, not Earth so...  
It's 3:30am. Can I sleep now?


	5. Nightmares & Sunshine

**Nightmares & Sunshine  
**

* * *

_**HEARTBEAT**_

_Dust and dirt everywhere. I could feel it—taste it—in my mouth. I tried in vain to spit it out but still it seeped down my throat and into my lungs-_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

_Pain. Burning pain in my shoulder and chest. A pulsing sting on the back of my neck-_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

_A painfully loud roar filled with rage rattled my eardrums. Howls of anger interrupted by erratic gunfire-_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

_I had to find her. How many times had I told her not to run off? And now this beast-_

_**HEARTBEAT**_

_A massive, clawed mound of flesh tore it's way toward me. A flash of crimson and silver blinded my vision but I felt no contact. A scream pierced the air as another splash of red flew before my eyes-_

Eve shot up in bed, gasping for air, a thin layer of sweat on her forehead and neck. A hand clutching her chest, the other over her eyes, Eve's body shook with a mix of fear, pain and shock. Her eyes finally adjusting to her surrounding and her mind clearing itself, she finally began to calm down. Relaxing her limbs, she took in a calculated, controlled the released it—the sudden stress leaving with the exhaled air.

That dream again. Eve thought to herself, running a steadying hand through her hair. Taking a few more stable, paced breathes, the woman slipped her legs off the side of her bed. She took a moment to stretch her limbs, relieving a few of her muscles from their tension.

The soft, orange light illuminating her bed from the window adjacent to it told her it was past sunrise. The flashing green numbers on the clock on her bedside told her it was 7:24am, to be precise. A small groan escaped her lips as she got up off the bed and made her way to the bathroom to wash up.

Having perfected her morning routine, Eve was ready and dressed in her CRYSIS uniform within 20 minutes. Straightening out her collar she made the 5 strides it took to get to the kitchen and found a smaller figure with their head in the fridge.

"You're going to be late again."

"Mmhmm." Came the reply, accompanied by the clinking of bottles and plates within the large appliance.

"Alva..." Eve sighed. The teenager pulled away from the fridge, revealing a carton of orange juice in her hand. The taller of the two raised an eyebrow, motioning to the juice carton with her chin, "Are you going to get a glass for that?"

Alva grinned sheepishly before wiping her mouth and screwing the cap back on the box. Placing it back in the fridge and closing it she turned back to Eve and shrugged.

"Nah, I'm done." The younger girl practically skipped past Eve down the hall to her own room.

Eve shook her head and walked over to open the fridge herself. She was greeted by a few containers of leftover food from the night before, two cartons of milk and a rather impressive assortment of juice cartons. Alva's love for fruit juices still managed to impress her. Apple, orange, grape, mango-peach, strawberry-banana... A rather spectacularly colored carton caught her eye.

_'Fruity Fiesta Frenzy-what in the-?'_

Resisting the urge to read the contents, she poured herself a glass of milk and sipped it while waiting for Alva to finish getting ready. She took a glance out of the kitchen window. They were on the 2nd floor so the view wasn't spectacular-just the view of a small park behind their apartment building.

Honestly, Eve just felt lucky they were able to live in said apartment building. It was in a decent neighborhood, just outside the CRYSIS HQ district—a mere half an hour by foot to be exact. It also had a steady shuttle terminal where Alva could get to and from the orphanage where she attended school. A quick flashback of when Alva blatantly refused to take lessons from a tutor provided by CRYSIS caused Eve to shake her head again. Always so difficult yet sure of what she wanted.

A shuffling sound snapped Eve out of her thoughts. Alva walked into the kitchen, zipping up a backpack. She noticed Eve standing against the counter with the glass of milk.

"What're you doing? C'mon we gotta go!" She motioned for Eve to finish drinking. The taller of the two frowned before taking the last few gulps and rinsing out the glass in the sink, "See? _This_is why you skip the glass part." Eve turned to stare at the younger of the two who was grinning widely and waving in the direction of the front door as she opened it, "Now c'mon! You're gonna be late!"

"Cheeky little-." Eve muttered under her breath before moving to follow Alva out of the apartment, locking the door behind her.

Regardless of how early or late either of them were, Eve would always walk Alva to the shuttle terminal. While the two of them had been attached to each other since before they could remember, Eve's protectiveness when it came to Alva increased significantly when they moved out of the orphanage to live on their own. And though Alva didn't particularly have a problem with it, Eve had assured the teen that it'd only be until they'd gotten used to the neighborhood but it eventually became a habit they'd both grown accustomed to.

"So you think you'll be late tonight?" Alva asked, turning and walking backwards a few feet ahead of Eve.

"I don't know, I shouldn't think so, why?"

"Well I mean, haven't you been transferred? Or moved ranks or something?"

"Oh." Eve hadn't really thought about her transfer. She'd been through at least 4 different classes during her training at CRYSIS. Her eyes glanced towards her left shoulder where the light shoulder guard bore the her rank insignia. She'd been wearing her training gear the day before when she'd gone to check in with her new superior officer. She eventually learned that said officer wasn't scheduled to take over the class until the day after. Yet she stayed and managed to cause a scene with some of the recruits. Before her mind could fully focus on the events of the day before, Alva'd voice interrupted.

"Well if you do end up staying late, remember to call." Eve looked back towards Alva to see the teen smirking, wagging a finger at her

"Says the girl who had to be picked up in the middle of the night by my superiors-"

"Hey! I was perfectly fine! And I had told you earlier that day that I would be staying at the orphanage!" Eve almost laughed at the pout that appeared on Alva's face, "You have any idea how much lecturing I got after that?"

"Do I remember? I was there too!" Eve said, wincing. That night had been one of the longest she'd had.

"Gah! The shuttle!" Alva yelled suddenly before darting off. Eve looked down the street to see a shuttle pulling out of the terminal, "I'll see ya later!" Alva yelled over her shoulder while waving frantically to prevent the shuttle from leaving without her. Eve watched as she ran a good few meters alongside the vehicle before it eventually stopped and let her on. After a few moments the shuttle began pulling away again. Just before it turned the corner, she saw Alva making a face out the rear window. She raised an eyebrow before giving an awkward wave as the shuttle flew out of view.

Turning down a side street, Eve yawned as she pulled out her communication device to check the time. 8:32am. She made a face when she realized she may actually be late.

She had been a part of CRYSIS for years now but it didn't mean she held such a fondness for the Corps. that caused her to hate being late. However, the years of routine and training did somehow work its way into her own sense of self-discipline, it was more like a dislike of being late in general than being late for training with CRYSIS specifically. Slipping the device back into her pocket she broke into a jog as she turned onto another street.

As she began to cross it however, she suddenly felt the ground move. The communication device in her pocket began to buzz and small lights along the street began flashing. Eve stopped in her tracks when she felt another tremor under her feet, this time slightly stronger. She crouched to keep her balance. She heard a small yelp down the street and looked to see a woman clinging to the fence surrounding her house.

After a few tense moments the tremor stopped and Eve slowly stood up, throwing a glance over at the woman who seemed to be alright—if not slightly shaken. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the lights lining the streets cease to flash.

It was then that Eve noticed the tremor had affected her more than she cared to admit. For a second, it seemed like the world—no, time itself—had stopped. Slowly however, her senses began returning to normal. She acknowledged the small breeze on her cheeks; the sound of the leaves rustling in the trees; the patterns they were making as the sun filtered through them onto the ground.

As her eyes drifted to her feet, she shifted one of them and found a small crack under it. She made the small observation that the tremors were getting longer—longer and happening more frequently. Frowning, she pulled out her comm. device to call Alva but noticed a message already blinking up at her.

_'Im fine, stop worryin & hurry up. Ur gonna be late.'_

Breaking into a smile—the tremor pushed to the back of her mind—Eve put away her device and continued jogging down the street towards her destination.

* * *

**A/N:**

ZOMIGAWD? AN UPDATE?  
NOWAIMAN!

...yeah, s'what I thought too... o_0

**:::::OMAKE:::::**

As the shuttle pulled away from her stop, Alva turned to head into the building behind her. As she did, she felt a buzz in her pocket. She pulled out her comm. device and checked to see a message from Eve. Sighing, she opened it and read it quickly. After a good long moment she frowned and snapped the device shit and shoved it back into her pocket.

_'It would be "I'm" and "U're", FYI.'_

"GRAMMAR NAZI!"


	6. Various Information

**Various Information  
**

* * *

Lightning found herself letting go of a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as ground stabilized under her feet. She frowned, hearing the relatively crowded military complex break out in murmurs. Murmurs that that would no doubt grow into speculations; speculations which would eventually mature into panic-inducing rumors. Continuing on her way through the building towards the training grounds she found it difficult to ignore the small pang of concern in the back of her mind that said panic-inducing-rumors could actually be more than just rumors.

Her mind then flashed back to the afternoon before when she met with Amodar as he was leaving the Council chamber.

_She and Hope had apparently had good timing, the session had just ended and Council members were filing out of the double doors. Lightning didn't catch Amodar when the last of them seemed to have exited. Moving toward the doors, she took a look inside._

_The Council chamber wasn't so much large as it was high. The ceiling towered high overhead, crystal so sunlight painted the entire chamber in a diffused light. Crystal pillars lined the walls, smaller crystals of various shapes protruded from them. Were it later in the day—more specifically, after sunset—they would have been emitting a soft glow to keep the chamber illuminated. A long table was set in the center with numerous chairs along either side. Near the very edge of the table stood Amodar examining a datapad._

_Just as Lightning and Hope stepped into the chamber the ground seemed to suddenly jerk to the side, throwing them off balance. The initial jolt was followed by a rather strong tremor that caused quite a few of the chairs near the table to slide out of position._

_"Councilman!" Hope called as he noticed Amodar grasping the side of the table, attempting to steady himself. _

_Lightning was already making her way toward him. She was only a few feet away when the shaking seemed to slow to a stop. Hope quickly made his way toward the other two, adjusting a few of the seats along the way._

_"Ah, First-Lieutenant, Sergeant-Major!" Amodar greeted them as he adjusted the robe he wore that indicated that he was a member of the Crystal Council._

_"Councilman." Hope said with a small bow of his head._

_"Amodar." Lightning greeted him, much less formally. Amodar noticed this and gave a small smile, "Are you okay?"_

_"Yes, thank you," He replied, bringing up a display from a keypad on the edge of the table, "Luckily, that was one of the more tame tremors."_

_"Tame?" Lightning said, surprised, "That was tame?"_

_"Well, you've been in Neo Oerba for a while." Hope explained as Amodar pulled up a series of records of the tremors on the holographic screens that appeared above the keypad, "It seems that the closer you are to the base of the Crystal Pillar, the more intense the tremors."_

_"So the whatever is causing the tremors is under Crystallinus?"_

_"Not quite." Amodar spoke up, "There have been reports of other areas away from the city that have had tremors that are just as if not more violent than those that occur here in the city." Lightning watched as he brought up a map depicting different areas around Crystallinus. Neo Oerba was shown as relatively safe from recorded tremor-zones. She reached over and brought up the records again and quickly scanned them._

_"According to this, 'safe-zones' or not, the tremors are getting worse." _

_"That's... not entirely impossible." Amodar answered reluctantly._

_"And we still have no idea what's causing them."_

_"No." Amodar replied again, this time with a heavy sigh, "We don't."_

As she finally reached the training facility, Lightning checked herself in and started towards one of the training fields. She'd be lying if she said the issues with the tremors didn't concern her. A lot of people had put a lot of effort into building both Crystallinus and Neo Oerba from the ground up. Anything that endangered them, natural or not, was deemed a threat by Lightning. And the pinkette was not keen on taking threats lightly.

"Light!" A voice called from behind her. She recognized the voice as Hope's and looked to see the young man jogging to catch up with her.

"Morning First-Lieutenant." She greeted him, his slightly-annoyed cringe lightening her mood slightly.

"I guess in front of the recruits, ranks are necessary." He stated as the two of them continued down the hall, "Speaking of which, did you get the time to review the list of recruits last night?"

"Well between catching up with some acquaintances and reporting to various officers as per requests I didn't have a lot of time before dinner." Lightning explained, "And after that, I decided to call Serah..." She trailed off.

"So she doesn't come marching to the front gate of HQ demanding to see her older sister?" Hope finished the sentence through a stifled laugh. Lightning shot a grimace his way before shaking her head.

"Well, it was only supposed to be a quick call but it kinda... turned into..."

"A mild family reunion?" Hope again, attempted to complete the sentence. And once again, he received a pained look.

"Anyway, I took a quick look but I figured I'd be meeting them all today anyway." She waved the datapad was carrying, "There's only so much a datapad can tell you about someone." While Hope agreed, he did notice that it seemed rather un-Lightning-like for her to forgo 'studying' up on anything concerning her job.

Lightning hadn't lied. She had called Serah the night before and it had gone on longer than she expected but the issue with the tremors had distracted her much more. She'd even managed to forget about the slightly strange way both Hope and Amodar had talked about the group of recruits she had been asked to train.

_"Well that's the situation so far." Amodar stated, shutting down the screens in front of them before turning to face the younger two. He opened his mouth to say something but noticed the bag Lightning had hanging from one shoulder, "Y-Y'know... you could have gone to settle in before coming to see me, Farron..." He motioned towards the bag before throwing a glance at Hope. The younger man just raised his hands up in defense and shook his head as if to say: 'Don't look at me, you try talking her into doing something she doesn't want to.'_

_'In any case... she kept it over her shoulder while running across the room during a tremor?' He added in his head, finding the thought amusingly mind-boggling._

_"Oh, I wanted to know the details of this training assignment." Lightning stated in a matter-of-fact tone, somehow oblivious to the silent exchange between the two men, "I've been called on for urgent work but never involving training."_

_"The group you'll be training are a... particular group of individuals." Amodar began to explain, handing her the datapad, "I believe you're acquainted with one of them."_

_"Dajh." Lightning said quietly, seeing his name and picture appear as one of the first on the list, "Particular how?" She asked, quickly skimming the information on the datapad before looking up at Amodar._

_"Well to put it simply, out of this year's recruits, these have shown the most potential." The Councilman replied, "The Council have decided to see how effective it is to train them separately."_

_"And you don't approve?"_

_"I believe keeping the different groups of recruits as balanced as possible is a better system," Amodar admitted, "but the decision was out of my hands."_

_"I see." Lightning noted that as much as she wanted the full details, there was a time and place for everything—explaination included. _

_"You'll be able to see for yourself soon enough." Amodar said with a smile, patting Lightning's shoulder, "In the meantime, I've actually been contacted by a few parties that requested to meet with you—former squad mates and surperior officers and the like."_

_"Wait... who-?"_

_"I'll forward their messages to your comm. device," Amodar began to gentle nudge her toward the doorway, "First-Lieutenant, if you would please show the ever-popular Farron to her apartment?"_

_"But-"_

_"I've got another meeting to rush to, but we'll catch up a little later." Hope almost laughed at how befuddled Lightning looked as she was basically shooed out of the chamber, "Go on now."_

_"What... hold on... Amodar-!"_

"I swear that man irks me just as much as Snow does..."

"Hmm?" Hope questioned. Lightning silently cursed, not realizing she'd probably said that aloud.

"Nothing, nevermind." She replied quickly as she stepped out onto the training field. They were greeted with the sight of a dozen young men and women in training uniforms either chatting or stretching near the edge of the field. She decided to observe for a moment. She spotted Dajh amongst them, laughing with another recruit. She watched as another young man decided to try and impress the female recruits with a handstand before another decided to knock him over. And as predicted, the two got into a wrestling match whilst the rest began to cheer it on.

"These are the most promising eh?" She stated more than asked, "The recruits with the most potential?" She wasn't really looking for an answer. The increasing jeers from the recruits and the sound of Hope nervously clearing his throat was enough. She resisted the urge to groan as she started towards the group.

* * *

**A/N:**

OMIGAWD! ANOTHER UPDATE!  
That makes two!  
_*dies* _

Hmmm... what's that saying...?  
Good things come in threes? o_0  
_*hit by bat* _

I had coffee.  
...and candy.

...AND WANT MOAR! 0_O


	7. To Make an Impression

**To Make an Impression**

* * *

Eve practically skid to a halt in front of the double doors leading out into the training field. Stealing a glance at a terminal screen along the wall displaying the time—9:17am—she adjusted her uniform and rolled her shoulders before pushing through the doors and walking out into the sunlight.

"Pick it up Faire, Albhed! You've both still got your round of push-ups to do!" A voice reached her ears as Eve surveyed the area. The majority of the group of recruits were clumped near the center of the field either stretching or in the midst of a set of push-ups. Two were still finish what Eve assumed were laps. A rather small male with dark hair and a light-haired girl who almost looked as if she were skipping rather than running.

As she grew closer to the main group, she caught sight of a pink-haired woman whom she deduced was the training officer—meaning her superior officer. Information given to her regarding said officer had been little to none, but Eve had been acquainted to enough higher-ranked personnel to have a general idea of what to expect. All the superiors were more or less the same. For example, the fact she was late meant she had to be prepared for an earful. She walked to stand near the woman who was still barking orders to a few of the trainees. Straightening out, she raised her hand into a salute and opened her mouth to state her arrival.

"Hey! It's you!" A voice called, interrupting her, effectively taking her off-guard. She almost nearly jumped. Turning toward the recruits she saw the two young men from the day before grinning at her. Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly. The darker-skinned recruit gave a small nod, accompanied by a friendly smile.

"Yo, DeFluo!"

"What are you two doing?" The instructor snapped, "I don't recall you finishing your sets." The two recruit averted their eyes and continue with their training. Eve tensed up again as the officer turned to face her.

"Lance-Corporal DeFluo, reporting for duty as training assistant."

"Lance Corporal-?"

"Training assistant-?"

Eve felt the small urge to glare at both the recruits who had once again interrupted. However, she froze once she finally found herself face to face with her superior officer. _'Soft'_ was the only word Eve could use, in that moment, to describe the other woman's face. Though there was no doubt in her mind that the woman was a good few years older, her face could beg to differ. But her voice had portrayed firm control and authority; the eye patch that covered one of her cerulean eyes revealed experience. Keeping eye contact, Eve noted that part of what made the blue orb so bright was its contrast to the rest of her face. It was cold and hard—sharp and alert. At least for the first few moments.

Slowly, Eve registered something else cross not only the instructor's eyes, but the rest of her face. It wasn't the anger or irritation as she expected. Shock?

"Ma'am?" She questioned after another moment of increasingly-awkward silence. Eve couldn't deny her piqued interest at the strange reaction she incited from the other officer. Had she been mistaken? She thought herself quite adequate at reading people but the initial impression she got from the woman had been quite different to what she was seeing presently.

"Training assistant?" The officer fumbled with a datapad in her hand, seemingly unwilling to break eye contact. Eve observed her as she skimmed information on it for a few seconds. She watched the woman mouth a few of the words, her full name included, "I wasn't informed there would be a training assistant for this group of recruits." The instructor said aloud, finally looking back up.

"It was a last minute transfer ma'am, I wasn't aware of it myself until two days ago." Eve explained herself, "I wasn't even given information on my superior officer." Eve hinted subtlely.

"Acting training officer, Sergent-Major Farron." The pinkette stated quickly. Eve didn't recognize the name; though that didn't say much. Most of the various officers and staff at CRYSIS were more or less faceless to her. She got an unusual feeling that she probably wouldn't have forgotten this woman's face. No... Not exactly; more like... it seemed familiar-?

Poorly-restrained cheering from the recruits caused both officers to turn back to the group. The last two had finally finished both their laps and push-up sets. The Sergeant-Major cleared her throat before ordering them to settle down. Eve witnessed a significant shift in character with interest.

"All of you have been training at CRYSIS since the beginning of the year." The pinkette waved the datapad in her hand, "All of you were suddenly transferred into this particular training group; because all of you displayed significantly promising potential." The recruits hesitantly began looking between each other, "Or so I've been told." Eve raised an eyebrow as the Sergant-Major began walking towards a small clearing in the field, "So let me tell you this..."

The group watched as a small control station raised out of the clearing along with a few holo-screens that flickered above it as the officer reached it, "And listen carefully because I am only going to say this once." She tapped a few keys on one of the panels before continuing, "Everything you've learned so far, whatever it was you excelled at to get you here," The pinkette tapped began punching in a few keys on the control panel, "Forget it. It won't help you here."

Eve would have been lying if she said she wasn't just as confused as the recruits. What kind of training instructor tells you to forget your training?

"All of you line up on along the east side of the field." The Sergeant-Major ordered, not looking up from the console she was working with. The recruits barely hesitated before jogging to take a position on the edge of the training area. Eve noticed 4 small crystal pillars appear out of the ground at the corners of the field, and watched as each one began emitting at least 3 lines of light. Before she could speculate their purpose, a wide variety of what looked like laser beams and forcefields appeared across the training area—each and every one of them, moving.

"All of you are to make it across the training field and back without tripping any of the sensors." The Sergeant-Major relayed the objective, "You hit a sensor, you begin the course again." Eve looked between the field, the recruits, and the training officer. She'd never seen of such a training course, nor heard or read about it during her own time at CRYSIS. She suddenly let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding.

"DeFluo." The Sergeant-Major's voice forced her eyes from the field in front of her, "What are you doing? Line up and get ready to run the course." Eve blinked a couple of times, hearing the order but not quite processing.

"Ma'am?"

"I know the less about you than I do any of the recruits in this training group." Eve studied the pinkette who was now looking directly at her with a look of challenge on her face, "If I'm going to have you assist me with anything, I need to know what you're capable of." Eve disliked any form of confrontation above anything else. To her it was troublesome and was one of the very many things she instinctively avoided as much as possible; but she felt an indomitable need to face and accept this one.

Eve gave a small nod before jogging over to join the other recruits. As she neared the group she felt her hands curl into fists, her jaw tighten and a small smirk cross her lips.

_'Interesting.'_

* * *

**A/N:**

[insert witty comment here]


	8. Familiar Similarities

**Familiar Similarities**

* * *

Lightning almost broke at least three doors and almost knocked over at least seven people as she practically charged through the administration building where she had heard she could find a certain First-Lieutenant. Finally bursting into a smaller office, she caught sight of the tall, light-haired man discussing something with two other officers.

"First-Lieutenant Estheim." She announced curtly, interrupting the conversation, "A word, if you please." Before a response could be given, she turned and headed back out of the room. As she stepped into the hall, she barely heard a rushed apology followed by a string of equally rushed footsteps heading in her direction.

"L-Light? What's going on?" Hope asked and he followed the rushing pinkette out of the building out into a large courtyard, "You seem-"

"I just got finished reviewing my first training session today." Lightning recited, stopping abruptly and spinning on her heel. The First-Lieutenant barely managed to step back, out of a head-on collision.

"I see..." He said after a moment of silence, still slightly confused.

"Funny, I don't recall anything being said about a training assistant." She raised an eyebrow when the look of realization crossed Hope's face. She folded her arms, waiting for his response. He looked thoughtful for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck, something she noticed he (still) did when he was nervous.

"I didn't?" Lightning frowned. Sure she'd been distracted the day and night before, but it couldn't have been enough for her to overlook something like this. It had been 10 years; the entire military had changed but she still worked better on her ownr— both Amodar and Hope knew this. Having been assigned an assistant was not something she would have accepted, let alone missed. She studied Hope's face, though she didn't really need to. She knew he was a terrible liar—besides he wouldn't lie to her.

"When you arrived, on the way to see Amodar?" He explained, "I think were were walking along the overhead bridge above the training ground...?" Lightning thought back. She remembered. They were talking about Dajh but she couldn't recall the actual conversation. She had been distracted by something- Her eyes widened, "...figured Amodar might not have wanted to bring it up since he knows best that you prefer to work alo-"

"Lance-Corporal Evangeline DeFluo." Lightning recited, interrupting Hope again.

"Lance-Corporal..." He trailed off, once again confused, "The name doesn't sound familiar."

"No? How about the face." Lightning asked, handing him a datapad. He'd barely taken it from her when he caught a glimpse of the image of the lower-ranked officer in question. Observing his undoubtibly shocked reaction, the pinkette's shoulders slumped as she let out a small sigh, "Light... Light this is-"

"I know."

"She looks like-"

"I know." Lightning interrupted yet again, more forcibly. She'd repeated the same thing to herself too many times to be able to handle Hope say it again. Hope picked up on this and decided not to push in that direction.

"So who is she?"

"She's been with CRYSIS for a little over three years," Lightning answered, having thoroughly read anything and everything she could find on DeFluo, "Quickly raised to the rank of Lance-Corporal within two but hasn't taken any of the tests to achieve a higher rank. She's been transferred around a lot, I haven't been able to find out a particular reason thought it may have something to do with her impressive combat skills."

"She's talented?" Hope questioned.

"I don't know about talented, but judging from her performance this afternoon, she knows how to handle herself."

"You... put her through training?" Lightning turned to see Hope with a raised eyebrow, "Your assistant?"

"I didn't know anything about this person! And she's assigned to help me train recruits?" Lightning defended a little too hastily, "I had to know what I was working with." Hope raised a hand in defeat, smiling sheepishly. The Sergeant-Major turned away, sighing.

"It says she's an orphan." Hope read off the datapad in an attempted to steer the conversation back on track.

"She was orphaned after the Cocoon incident and was raised in an orphanage just outside the Market District." Lightning clarified, taking the datapad from Hope, "Which means any information concerning her history prior to 10 years ago is lost or destroyed."

"For her to have been here for three years and to not have once have crossed paths with either of us..." Hope wondered aloud, "I guess since we've been to and from headquarters a lot more, recently..."

"She doesn't live in at HQ," Lightning continued to explain, "She lives in an apartment complex in the neighboring district."

"That's unusual, for her not to be living in the dorms—for a Lance-Corporal anyway," Hope commented, "It's mostly the higher ranks that choose to live outside of the CRYSIS district."

"It could be because of her sister, she lives with her." Lightning added.

"She has a sister?"

"Younger, early teens. I hadn't gotten around to looking into her," Lightning closed the datapad display, "It looked like her records had even more holes in it." Sighing once more, the pinkette noticed Hope rubbing his neck again. She gave him a questioning look.

"The younger sister... she didn't happen to have orange hair... did she?" Lightning nearly dropped the datapad, "In pig-tails?"

"Huh-?

"Bright green eyes?"

"Wha-?"

"Cheeky grin?" Hope added before receiving a punch in the arm. He gave a nervous but playful chuckle, rubbing the limb gently.

"Don't even joke about that, Hope," The Sergeant-Major warned, putting a hand to her forehead, "I've had enough of that to last a lifetime." She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Okay look, I can understand why you'd want to pursue this," Hope said gently, "I won't try to stop you, and if I can help in any way you know I will but I don't think you should totally rule out coincidence." There was a long moment of silence before he let go of her shoulder, "Can we talk more in the morning, I've got to get back to a briefing." He waited until Lightning gave him a small nod before turning and heading back towards the building entrance.

Lightning understood Hope's advice, and it wasn't like she'd already ruled out coincidence. It was logically sound and entirely possible. But a feeling in her gut told her otherwise. Many things had happened in the last decade—things both good and bad. And yes, a few of those things may have reminded her of the incident on Cocoon; what happened there; what happened to them. But nothing compared to this.

She hadn't just seen a ghost—she knew what it was like to be haunted by the past—this was undeniably different. It was like memories come to life. The physical resemblance was much too close for comfort. Though a deep red in direct sunlight, DeFluo hair was dark and unruly, _'Just like hers.'_ What Lightning could see of the Lance-Corporal's tanned body under the uniform was deeply defined and toned yet still managed to look soft—delicate even—_'Just like hers.' _ She did not share the accent but something about the way DeFluo spoke struck somewhere deep in the pinkette. Her voice was smooth, subtly confident, _'Just like hers.'_

After training she'd re-watched the recordings of the group doing strength assessments in the afternoon. She'd had each of them knock down as many training dummies as possible in a set amount of time. DeFluo had been the only one to knock down anywhere near the complete set of dummies. The Lance-Corporal displayed impressive power—even if one took into consideration the rank and experience she held over the recruits. However, what surprised Lightning the most was her familiarity with said power. She'd recognized it, seen it before, _'It's just like hers...'_

"Fang."

* * *

**A/N:**

*GASP*!  
Angreh Lightning is angreh!


	9. Cracks

**Cracks**

* * *

It was already after sundown by the time Eve finally saw Alva running down the street towards her, waving and calling her name. As she drew closer, she began to slow to a jog, visibly out of breath. The teen practically collapsed against the wall, struggling for air.

"I just need... one second..." The smaller girl panted, raising a finger, "One second..." Eve waited patiently for the one minute her sister took to catch her breath, "Mmkay! I'm good!" She exclaimed, pushing off the wall.

"You're half an hour late." Eve stated bluntly.

"It's not my fault! Any shuttles that drop you off anywhere near the main gate of the CRYSIS HQ requires you to have a military status and ID!" Alva retorted, already beginning to pout, "The nearest public shuttle stop was practically in the next district!"

"Alright, alright." Eve raised her hands in defeat, "But why did you want to meet me at the main gate anyway? It would have been easier to just meet at the apartment."

"Because I heard something interesting today." The younger of the two said with a grin before grabbing Eve's hand and pulling her down the street, back the way she'd run from. Stumbling a little from being semi-dragged awkwardly, pulled her hand away, but remained walking closely behind Alva.

"You ran across half the district, making me wait half an hour, because you heard something interesting." Eve attempted to follow her sister's though process aloud. Alva threw her another pouty look before picking up the pace. Sighing, Eve decided to remain quiet, and acted—as she found through experience—the best way to do so around Alva; which was to just go with it.

They walked for a good 15 minutes before Eve realized they'd reached the edge of the CRYSIS district. Alva slowed to a stop and began examining the shrubbery behind a low wall along the pavement. Eve watched with mild interest as the teen poked and shifted different areas before she finally let out a yell.

"Found it!" She looked towards Eve, pointing towards the bushes. Eve moved to stand behind her. She looked to see what seemed to be a small path leading away from them, through the vegetation. The tree-line of part of a forest started a few yards away so she couldn't see much farther in.

"A path into the forest." Eve observed verbally.

"Not just any path, come on!" Alva said excitedly, already climbing over the half-wall.

"Alva, it's dark already, I had a long day." Eve sighed heavily, "Can we just go home? We can play get-lost-in-the-forest some other time." In the process of voicing her suggestion, she became semi-aware that the smaller girl was probably paying less attention to her and more attention to the larger bush that looked as if it were ingesting her leg.

"You coming?" Came a question instead of an answer.

"Alva-"

"C'mon it'll only take a second!" The younger of the two was already making her way down the tiny path. Shutting her eyes for a moment, Eve took a deep breath. When she opened them, she noticed the crystal street-lights were lighting up to illuminate the roads. She also noticed the lights along the CRYSIS district walls were emitting enough light to keep the _'path'_ at least somewhat visible. Fully aware that she'd probably regret doing so, she swung herself over the low wall and began to follow her sister towards who knew where.

Fortunately the path remained on the outskirts of the forest and near the lights from the CRYSIS district walls. The two siblings continued for about 10 minutes before Eve noticed a light that differed from the ones they'd been relying on until then. It was an eerie blue and seemed to be coming from a much larger source. Unfortunately branches and leaves blocked the view of whatever it was. Another few feet, however, and she noticed a they were reaching a clearing.

She watched Alva stumble out first and look towards what she assumed was the source of whatever the blue light was. Finding her pace quicken, she eventually reached the clearing as well and stepped out, dusting herself off before following Alva's gaze.

"Whoa!" The younger sibling spoke first, "It looks even bigger up close!"

Eve swallowed a lump in her throat as she took in the sight. They were literally standing about 20 yards away from the base of the Crystal Pillar. Her eyes climbed upwards along the crystal, mapping the way it looked as if it were flowing upward. The flower-like structures under the base of the dead planet looked more like fireworks from where she stood, looking up at that particular angle.

It was visible from anywhere in Crystallinus, but she'd never been this close. The CRYSIS district was built around the base of the Pillar but there was about a 40 yard perimeter around it, moderately guarded. She wasn't sure of the specifics but she'd been pretty sure a Lance-Corporal wouldn't have had clearance to be anywhere near the base of the Pillar. Not that she wanted to. The Pillar had always given her a cold chill or a quiet sense of discomfort whenever she thought about it too much. She may have even unconsiously begun to avoid being anywhere near the Baseline. Strangely enough, being so close somewhat quelled the unease, soothed it-

"Look! There's an opening!" Alva's voice snapped her eyes back to ground level, where she saw the teen heading towards the glowing blue crystal mass.

"Alva, wait-!" Eve started but also noticed something odd about the glow. While it was faint, the size of the Pillar create quite a large amount of light. However, looking closer at the crystal wall, there was a soft pulsing glow behind it. Curiosity getting the better of her, she found herself rushing after Alva, but not quite with the intention of stopping her. Alva had already clambered her way into the small opening by the time Eve had reached it. The older of the two hesitated for a second before climbing in after her.

It wasn't a long passage but seemed more or less natural meaning some segments were tighter than others. Finally rolling out of a particularly tight squeeze, Eve finally found herself in an open space. No, open room? Her eyes had to refocus to a slightly different lighting but they widened as a reflex when she realized what she was staring at. The Crystal Pillar was hollow. They were standing in it. What was more was that there was a smaller, thinner pillar running up the middle of it. And it was the inner pillar that was the source of the pulsing light.

"What... what is it?" Eve heard Alva ask. Both of them knew they probably wouldn't get an answer. Eve was too busy following the inner pillar upwards. She couldn't quite see what was at the top—but whatever it was, it was something you could only see from the inside. Was it... moving?

There was a suddenly pulse, not only of light, but a force that Eve felt through her entire body. She looked down against to see Alva reaching for the pillar.

"Alva don't!" She warned, jumping towards the smaller girl. She managed to grab Alva's outstretched hand but landed awkwardly on a few loose crystal fragments which that her off balance. She tried to angle herself away from the PIllar but she'd pulled Alva along with her so she ended up reflexively grabbing at the pillar to keep them both from falling. She succeeded, for the most part.

"Aw c'mon Eve, that's not fair!" Alva said from the awkward position she was in: being half-carried under one of Eve's arms, "Why do you get to touch it?"

"I didn't have a-" Eve began but was cut off when another pulse echoed through the room—no, through her hand-

_"-ou want quiet, take the next train-"_

_"-omise I'll protect Cocoon-!"_

_"-loose, but I'm a l'cie, same as you-"_

_"-ive up! Forget our focus! We don't need it-!"_

_"-tear down the sky if it'll save her-"_

_"-Don't you even-!"_

_"-What do you want from me-?"_

_"-ow do you pay for what you've done-?"_

_"-mpossible possible! That is our focus-!"_

_"-you ready-?"_

"Araaaaagh!" Eve finally let out a scream as another pulse surged past her hand and arm; Into her body—no, through her body—sending her and Alva flying backwards a few feet. Eve landed hard on her back, Alva rolling out of her grip a few feet away.

Eve clutched her head. The muffled voices were fading but was replaced by loud static, almost cracking noise. She forced herself up and noticed Alva lying on the ground, not moving.

"Alva!" She scrambled over, grabbing the smaller girl and pulling her into her arms, "Alva?" The teen was still breathing, most likely unconscious. She had to get her out of the Pillar. Eve adjusted Alva's position and picked her up, making her way towards the entrance. She felt her footing slip and fell to one knee. Had she the blast effected her that bad? She then noticed that, even while kneeling, she felt unbalanced. A tremor?

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself back to her feet and slowly made her way to the opening in the Pillar. The tremor began to get violent as was forced to half carry, half drag Alva throw the crystal. As she reached the outside, the tremors began to cease. Stopping only for a few moments to catch her breath, Eve then continued back down the path they'd came. There were no words that could explain what she was thinking or feeling. The only thing that was clear was that she wanted keep Alva, as well as herself, as far away from the Crystal Pillar as possible.

* * *

**A/N:**

BEHOLD! THE OMNIOUS-ITY... or something o_0  
These chapters are getting long... but hopefully not boring.


	10. A New Dawn

**A New Dawn**

* * *

**_[Military housing block B, Sergeant-Major Farron's residence]_**

Yawning and stretching her back, Lightning reached over to silence the alarm clock. As she fully regained all her senses she noticed two things were wrong. One, it was 5:26am which was 34 minutes earlier than she'd set her alarm. Two, her alarm still haven't stopped beeping. Upon closer examination, she realized it wasn't her alarm, it was the comm. device next to it. Swinging her legs out of bed and sitting up into another quick stretch, she answered the call.

"Lightning?" Hope's voice rang loud in her ear. She winced slightly.

"Hope? Why are you calling me at 5:30 in the morning?"

"Sorry to wake you but I thought this was too important to not inform you." Lightning yawned into the back of her hand before asking.

"What's going on?"

"It's better if you come see for yourself."

"Alright," Lightning agreed through a sigh, "Where are you?"

"At the base line." The words snapped Lightning fully awake instantly. Base line? The Crystal Pillar? She practically jumped out of bed, grabbing the nearest set of clothes she could.

"I'll be there in 5." She said before hanging up.

_**[Meanwhile, at Baseline]**_

"Did you reach her?" Amodar asked Hope as the First-Lieutenant caught up with him at the Pillar Perimeter checkpoint.

"She's on her way." Hope reassured.

"And the report? Is it accurate?"

"I really don't see why or how anyone would falsify reports like these." Hope answered quickly and honestly but found no comfort in the words. The both of them presented their IDs to the guards at the checkpoint and were cleared to pass. They made their way to the main entrance to the pillar where they were met with a few other officers.

"First-Lieutenant, Councilman." The officers greeted the both of them respectively.

"What exactly is the situation here?" Amodar asked.

"A random intervals last night, the perimeter monitoring station picked up some unusual readings from inside the Pillar but nothing that suggested anything was wrong." One of the officers began to explain, "then, this morning it was discovered Baseline had been hit by a tremor."

"A tremor?" Hope repeated, "How large?"

"It would have been classified as a moderate threat."

"Moderate? Then why wasn't it reported? Or the rest of the district affected?" Hope motioned over his shoulder with his thumb.

"That's just it sir, it would have been if it hadn't been small enough to just effect the area of Baseline." The second officer clarified.

"You mean the tremor occured directly under the pillar, affected only the area in it?"

"Yes, sir." Hope sighed audibly before before nodding, "Alright, what about inside? Was there any damage?" Again the officers looked at each other before turning back to him.

"What is this, twenty questions?" Amodar suddenly spoke up, throwing his hands up in exasperation. He pat Hope's shoulder, motioning with his head towards the main entrance to Baseline. Hope turned back to the officers and gave them a salute. They responded in kind.

"Thank you, we'll take it from here."

Hope followed Amodar towards the large entryway that'd been carved into the base of the Pillar. Tilting his head upwards, the First-Lieutenant couldn't see any visible damage but there was something significantly different about the Crystal Pillar. And while he couldn't place exactly what it was, he had a feeling that once he found out, he wouldn't like it. he eyes drifted back down towards the entranceway he and Amodar were talking towards.

Almost immediately after Cocoon's crystallization, the remaining members of the Guardian Corps had already begun clearing the area around the base, using both the debris and scattered crystals to build camps. The Guardian Corps would eventually shift to form the Crystal Council and the camps would eventually evolve into the Crystal City—Crystallinus.

Around the same time the CRYSIS Corps had started to form, the large crack that would eventually become an entrance way was discovered in the base of the Pillar (Baseline). The CRYSIS Corps. had carefully cleared out the rubble and debris from inside and found the inner shaft the Pillar seemed to be protecting.

It'd been a huge debate whether or not to study the inner shaft. From what initial investigations turned up, the shaft was directly linked to not only the Crystal Pillar but to the crystal energy used to build and power the city. But it wasn't the shaft that concerned certain members that were either on and related to the Crystal Council—such as Hope, Lightning and Amodar. What concerned them was at the tip of the inner shaft. No science teams had managed to get anywhere near the top but they knew what was up there and were adamant to keep it undisturbed.

"This is..." Amodar started as he stepped into the main chamber of the Crystal Pillar. Hope followed and reviewed the scene.

The inner shaft, usually giving out steady pulses of light, was dim and almost flickering. Large cracks in the Crystal ground zigzagged outwards from the base of it, emitting a thin mist that had begun shrouding the floor. But the ground wasn't Hope's greatest concern—as serious as the damage looked, it wasn't the cause of the unpleasant feeling in his gut. Raising his gaze upwards, his eyes widened at what he saw.

"Amodar, Hope." Lightning's voice broke his gaze away. He turned to see Lightning making her own way into the chamber. She'd noticed the cracks and mist, slowed her pace, watching her steps.

"Sergeant-Major." Amodar greeted her.

"Light." Hope added softly.

"What... happened here?" She asked looking between the two of them and the surrounding Crystal. Hope swallowed another lump as she finally stopped to stand next to him. He watched her shift her eye upwards. Hope noticed her reaction wasn't much different from his, "What... H-How...?" He followed her gaze and once against found himself in disbelief at the sight.

The top half of the shaft had shattered, effectively disconnecting it from Cocoon. The usually bright source of light near the base of the dead planet was dark, hollow, empty. And while they couldn't see it, Hope knew Lightning could feel it just as he did. The crystal statues that spun there gently, locked in time, were no longer there.

_**[Meanwhile, somewhere between Crystallinus and Neo Oerba]**_

In a small, unnatural clearing within a forest layered in a thick mist, two figures lay side by side. Both lay still, shattered crystal shards littering the ground around them. They remained unmoving, un-breathing.

Then as dawn broke; as the sunlight began filtering through the trees illuminating the clearing in a dim orange light; two sets of green eyes snapped open and—were anyone around to hear it—two deep gasps for air broke the silence of the morning.

* * *

**A/N:**

DUN DUN DUN!  
The plot thickens! ...even more!  
...or something o_0

Yeah, yeah, yeah I know _"Finally! S'about time you brought them back!"_  
I'D BEEN GETTING TO IT, AIGHT!


	11. Pieces out of Place

**Pieces out of Place**

* * *

"I can't... I give up..." Snow panted, clutching at the grass as he made one last attempt to crawl to his feet, "This is the end... I see... a light..." He raised a hand, reaching out in front of him. He let out a choke of pain before collapsing to the ground, unmoving.

"Yes!" Came a triumphant voice from above Snow's limp body, "I am victorious! The hero wins again!"

"What are you talking about! I'm the one who struck the killing blow!" Another voice stated quickly.

"No you didn't! I totally got him first!"

"No, me!"

"Me!"

"Boys!" Snow interrupted, now sitting up, staring at the paired source of arguing voices. The two pouty faces of his twin sons looked back at him, "You're on the same team! Both of you defeated me, that means you're both are heroes!" The boys looked at each other, then at their father, their frowns turning into wide, cheeky grins.

"That was some pretty awesome teamwork too." Snow admit, referring to the 'killing blow'. Syd had ran at him head on, practically jumping on him. It was enough to have sent him stumbling backwards—or would have if Noah hadn't positioned himself behind his legs on all fours. The set-up and timing had effectively managed to knock Snow off his feet. The maneuver had caught Snow completely by surprise.

"How'd you come up with something like that?"

"Auntie Light taught us!"

"Yea, Auntie Light taught us!"

"Ah!" Snow let out a hearty laugh, "Of course she did."

"Boys!" A voice from the house called. The three of them looked to see Serah just outside the back door, "It's time for lunch. Come on, come inside and wash up." The twins cheered before running towards the house.

"Mom! Mom! You shoulda seen it-"

"We totally kicked dad's butt, Syd jumped at him-"

"Then Noah took out his legs then-"

"Alright, okay, okay," Serah nodded with a smile, gently pushing them into the house, "You can tell me about it after you wash up, come on." She turned, seeing Snow brush himself off as he approached her. She pick a few blades of grass out of his hair and giggled.

"What? It was two against one!" He defended.

"Mmhmm."

"They had training from Light!" Snow added desperately. This only proved to make Serah laugh harder. She silently thanked the fact that neither of them had had their AMP devices on them that morning. As the twins in question came bounding back into the kitchen to sit at their seats, the small pinkette gently pat his arm as she moved to place dishes of food on the table. Snow reached for a bit of food on his own plate but had his hand slapped away by his wife. She took his plate to the table, gesturing towards the sink with her free hand.

"So are you heading out with Gadot and Maqui this afternoon?" Serah asked, taking her own seat at the table.

"Yeah, they headed out a little earlier to scout." Snow answered, joining them, "They'll probably be around after lunch to pick me up."

"Can we come?" Syd spoke up, a forkful of food inches from his mouth.

"Are you going hunting?" Noah asked, a forkful of food in his mouth.

"Maybe when you're a little older, Syd." Serah answered as Snow chuckled to himself, "And don't talk with your mouth full, Noah." Both boys pouted but quickly returned to eating. She turned back to Snow, "Hunting again so soon?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure what it is but our traps have either been not working or destroyed completely." Snow explained through bites of his lunch.

Serah poked at the food on her own plate. The wildlife around the village had never been a real threat but the Neo Oerbans had decided to take precautions anyway; a few strategically placed traps, regular light patrols. It'd only been recently that they'd started forming hunting parties.

The smaller creatures that were easily caught by their traps or fought off by their patrols were becoming scare. Instead, larger and more dangerous creatures had begun appearing near the village—creatures were too large for the traps to be effective against. There hadn't yet been an incident that couldn't be handled but the unusual change in the ecosystem was slightly concerning.

A loud knocking on the door brought Serah back to the kitchen table. She moved to get up but Snow stopped her, getting up himself and going to answer the door.

"I'll get it, hun." He said with a smile, taking a quick bite of food before getting up and heading to the door. He opened it to find Gadot and Maqui, "Hey guys, you're uh, a little early but give me like five minutes and I'll be-"

"Snow we uh..." Maqui started but trailed off, glancing over at Gadot who looked deep in thought. Gadot was as buff as ever, now standing slightly taller than snow. Which always made it amusing when he was around Maqui. The younger of the two hadn't been so lucky with his height over the years. Snow looked between them.

"What's up?" After another moment without an answer, he gently punched Gadot's arm, "Hey, what's going on, man?" The large man turned to him quickly, as if snapped out of a trance.

"While we were scouting, we noticed a borgbear running off with one of our traps-"

"Not like... running off with it more like... it got caught up the trap got detached and it was running-"

"It was running off with one of our traps." Gadot interrupted, shooting a glare at Maqui.

"Right... y-yeah," Maqui said with a sheepish grin, "But so we chase after the the thing because I mean I figure if we got it back, the trap could still be useful and y'know it'd be one less trap to replace-" He was cut off when Gadot knocked him upside the head.

"So we chase the thing for a while and we get to this clearing, don't remember ever seeing it before." Gadot continued, "It wasn't a nest of anything I've ever seen before."

"Wasn't a campsite." Maqui piped up quietly.

"Okay, okay." Snow put up his hands to stop save Maqui from another blow to the head, "So you found a weird clearing..." he trailed off, looking between them expectantly, "...so?" Another strange look between the other two men.

"So, this." Maqui answered before taking something out of his pouch. He placed the contents in Snow's hand. When the blonde saw it, his jaw clenched up. He looked back up at the two. His eyes demanded an explanation but in realizing that they probably didn't have one—couldn't have one, he looked back down at his hand.

"Snow?" Serah's voice came from behind him causing him to quickly clench his fist, spinning around and angling the closed fist out of her view, "Oh, Gadot! Maqui!"

"Serah!"

"Hey Serah!" The two men greeted her with smiles and waves.

"Hey, hun," Snow said suddenly, moving into the house, "I think I'm gonna have to finish lunch a little later." He grabbed his jacket from a hanger near the door.

"O-Oh, is everything alright?" She asked.

"Fine, it's fine, everything's fine." Snow assured her, quickly slipping the jacket on and the contents of his fist into a pocket, "There's just uh..."

"Something happened to one of the traps." Maqui continued quickly, "We figured we need to move as soon as possible to deal with it." Snow shot him a look of thanks for the cover.

"Okay well, be safe." Serah said after a moment's hesitation. She quickly kissed Snow on the cheek before he left the house following his two friends. He turned and gave one last wave before continuing down the path quickly.

Once out of sight of the house, he slowed his pace slightly and pulled the crystal shards from his pocket. Examining them closely, there was no denying it. It was the same type of crystal as Serah's tear from 10 years ago. Lighter and more fragile, it was significantly different to the crystal that was used to build Crystallinus. But what was it doing so far from the city? The only source of that particular crystal that Snow knew of was at the base of Cocoon—hundreds of feet in the air.

"We weren't sure what to make of it." Maqui's voice brought Snow back to reality. They'd made it to the village center where a large hunting truck was parked. Gadot was already climbing in, "We came back as soon as we could, oh sorry for interrupting your lunch-"

"It's alright." Snow said, patting him on the back, "I'm glad you did." Honestly, Snow didn't know what to make of the crystal fragments either—but he was damned sure he was going to find out. Pocketing them again, he climbed into the front passenger seat next to Gadot. As they headed out of the village, Snow accessed the truck's communicator.

"Who you calling?" Maqui asked from the back seat.

"A friend." Snow answered, punching in a command to open a communication line to CRYSIS HQ.

* * *

**A/N:**

*****OMAKE*****

**Maqui:** Who you calling?  
**Gadot:** Y'know the drill, if there's something wrong in the neighborhood, who's he gonna call?  
**Snow:** stfu.

The twins. Are awesome. Don't deny.


	12. Dreams & Memories

**Dreams & Memories**

* * *

"Yes... and I'll come pick up any work you have for her later this evening... Thank you... Goodbye." Alva heard Eve finish her conversation and the sound of a comm. device disconnecting a line. Pulling the covers back up to her chin, she waited for her older sister to walk back into the room.

"Alright, I called the orphanage and I'll be picking up work for you later." Eve explained, sitting on the bed next to her, "Just rest for the day, I'll see if I can slip out during lunch to come check on you." Alva watched as eve moved to grab the near-empty glass of water on her bedside table, "Do you need more water? I'll grab some-"

"Don't go." Alva blurted out, reaching and grabbing one of her sister's arms as she started moving away from the bed, "I mean, can't you stay? Take a day off or something?" She found herself pleading yet avoiding eye contact. She didn't know why but she had the strangest urge to be close to Eve—and she couldn't do that lying in bed. She couldn't have done it if she'd gone to school either, besides it wasn't as if she were feigning sick. She did have a fever and had been nauseous most of the night.

"Alva, I'd like to but I can't." The older girl explained, "My new position is different, I have more responsibilities." Alva loosened her grip on Eve's arm and turned to stare at her hands. She felt Eve move, followed by a hand gently ruffling her hair, "I'll make sure to check on you during lunch okay?"

Eve pulled away, getting up off the bed, "You'll probably be asleep, snoring though." Alva shot her a glare as she began to leave the room, "I'll get you another glass of water."

The younger of the two sighed, staring at the open door. The two of them had always been close. It'd stemmed from being orphaned together—though neither of them really remembered anything from before that. She'd tease her older sister about worrying too much about her but she honestly didn't mind. But she'd never felt so strongly about staying physically near Eve before. She knew it was only a day—a few hours apart, if Eve did return to the apartment during lunch but the thought made Alva unusually uncomfortable. And the fact she couldn't explain why, didn't help in the least.

"Here you go." Eve walked back into the room with the full glass.

"You really can't stay?" Alva tried again as Eve placed the glass back on the bedside table. The older sibling sighed, gently pushing Alva back onto her pillow.

"I really can't," Eve answered while pulling the blanket up over her shoulders, "and you need to rest." Alva reluctantly gave up, frowning as Eve turning to leave the room again. She listened, hearing the front door open and close quietly.

Alva looked up at the ceiling, trying to relax. She drifted in and out of sleep, long enough to lose chunks of time at once, but not long enough to really feel rested. After a few rounds of this, she checked the clock on her bedside table. It'd been almost 3 hours since Eve had left; 4 until she may be back.

As she sat up, reaching to take a few sips of water, her thoughts drifted back to the night before. She remembered taking Eve to the path she'd heard about during the day. Some kids at the orphanage were talking about a supposed 'secret passage' that took you right to the Crystal Pillar. She'd always been curious about the large support that held up and entire planet. As soon as she overhead the rumor, she decided to investigate. And since Eve would've already been near the 'secret passage', she could bring her along.

She recalled finding the path and, in turn, finding her way to the Pillar. She'd been overcome with excitement she'd rushed into the first opening she could find. She didn't know what to expect as she did—she didn't think she expected anything. But what they found inside wasn't anything like she'd seen of, heard of—even imagined- before. She remember being amazed. Until she'd been thrown backwards and knocked unconscious.

Her hand reached up to the back left of her head, she winced as she touched the bump. She didn't remember being carried back to the apartment as Eve claimed but she did remember waking up in a cold sweat, nauseous. She'd woken up more than once, each time feeling worse than the time before. It was like waking up from horrible nightmares, only she didn't remember them—which really, only made it worse. Why couldn't she remember?

Coming to the conclusion that lying around wasn't doing any good, she got out of bed and changed out of her pajamas. She quickly shoved a couple of books in her backpack and headed out of the apartment. As she made her way down the stairs and onto the street, she pulled out her comm. device. Turning down the street, heading for the shuttle terminal she sent a quick message to Eve stating at how she was feeling well enough to make it to school and to not worry about returning to the apartment for lunch.

She began feeling light-headed as she boarded the shuttle towards the Market District but as the shuttle began to move she found the feeling subside. She'd always found the gentle hum of the shuttles soothing. More than once she'd missed her stop having fallen asleep to the sound. While she relaxed slightly as the shuttle drifted along, it wasn't quite enough to lull her to sleep, enabling her to get off at the correct stop.

The orphanage was barely 5 minutes away from the shuttle stop by foot. It wasn't a large building. From the outside it looked like a rather large house. The sizable yards both in front and around the back made it look even bigger. Additional rooms were almost always being added to the building since it doubled as a small school. It had grown significantly since Alva and Eve had left to live independently.

Alva paused at the front gate. It was quiet—it was still too early to be play time for even the smaller children. As she pushed open the gate she noticed the edge of the old tool-shed around the side of the orphanage. She was surprised they hadn't torn it down and used the space to build another room or wing.

Recalling a strange memory of a dream she made her way towards the tool-shed. Pushing open the small door—slightly wincing at the creaking of the hinges, she peered into the room. It was understandably a lot more cluttered than she remembered but just as dusty. Thinking back on the memory, she made her way through the maze of old boxes and furniture until she reached the back wall of the shed.

Running her hand along the wall she smiled as her fingers hit a small notch in the metal. Curling her fingers under it, she gave it a gentle pull. A cloud of dust burst outwards into her face, causing her to jump backwards, coughing. Waving an arm in front of her in an attempt to clear the air, she looked to see—just as back then—the metal had opened up, revealing a thin but tall space in the wall.

But to Alva it wasn't just any space. She remembered the night before she and Eve left the orphanage, standing outside watching Eve hide something there. Alva never saw what it was, and by the next morning she had already decided the entire event was probably a dream. She never brought it up and eventually—memory or dream—it was forgotten. Until now. Why?

Taking a closer look into the space she strained in the dim light to see what was inside. From what she could see it seemed to be a long pole of some kind. It was long enough to barely fit the length of the space. Not being able to see much more, Alva reached in and grabbed it, pulling it out slowly. She nearly lost her grip on it, it was so heavy. Dragging it out into the light, she noticed both ends of the pole seemed to fold in on themselves and; as she ran a hand along it to wipe away some of the dust, she saw it was bright red.

* * *

**A/N:**

Oooooooooh! How exciting!  
Yes, yes, I know, _"Oh no! More OC-ness!"_

Deal with it.  
_*throws tantrum*_  
S'MY STORY! I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT! YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!


	13. Moving Forward, Moving On

**Moving Forward, Moving On**

* * *

"Faaaaaaaaang!" Vanille whined loudly, "Would you slow down please? My legs didn't get any longer while we were sleeping!" There was a hearty laugh in response.

"Your whining my name seems to have, though." Fang teased the other woman as she finally managed to catch up. The pouty face she was met with only sparked another laugh.

"Hey! Don't tease!" Came another whine, this time accompanied by a soft smack to Fang's arm.

"Alright, alright, we'll break for a bit." Receiving only a happy yelp in response, the taller of the two moved to a large fallen tree a few feet away and hopped up to sit on it. Vanille had found an equally large, mossy boulder to rest on. She wasted no time taking advantage of as much of the flat surface as possible, stretching out into a lying position.

While Fang had kept up her pace as they'd made their way through the wilderness, she felt fatigue creep up on her a lot faster than she'd remembered. It used to be Fang could last at full running speed for a lot longer; but she'd been walking briskly for a mere hour or two and already she felt her body growing heavy—she didn't even have the weight of her lance at her back. And While having slightly less stamina than herself, she noted that even Vanille could usually last a lot longer without having to rest.

"Fang?"

"Mmm?" Answered with a soft hum as she surveyed the surrounding area.

"How long do you think we were asleep this time?" Came the thought that'd been on Fang's mind since they'd woken up.

"Can't really tell." Fang admit, still glancing around, "I don't recognize anything. There are plants and land formations I've never seen before."

"Ah!" Vanille shot up suddenly, "I know! I've noticed some critters that I've never seen before either!" Fang nodded. She'd seen caught glimpses of them too. Gran Pulse was a vast land and she knew there was no way she or Vanille could possible know about every creature that existed; but the surrounding wildlife seemed completely foreign to the Gran Pulse she remembered.

Of course Fang had considered the idea that it'd been another hundred of years since they'd fallen asleep—it'd been that long last time. But something about the way the area had been altered; Fang couldn't ignore the feeling that the changes were not entirely natural and couldn't be explained with just the passing of time.

"Don't recognize any of this." Fang repeated quietly, shaking her head.

"Except for that." Vanille spoke again after a moment of silence, her hand raised up, finger pointed upward. Fang looked up to see the view of the sky—or it would have been if it weren't blocked by the large dead planet, laced in crystal. The small planet itself was as beautiful as she remembered while still living on Gran Pulse—before the whole incident with the Fal'cie had happened entirely—even if it was during a time where it was a common belief that nothing but Vipers lived there.

But the crystal pike that it looked as if it were impaled on, took away from the beauty of the memory in Fang's mind. What's more is that she felt as if it were her fault the planet now looked dead and broken.

Regardless, it was where she had decided it would be best to start looking for answers. Because it was, as her Gran Pulsian companion had said, the only real 'landmark' that was familiar to them. When they'd awakened, they had no idea where they were—they had no idea _when_ they were. How long had they been frozen as crystal, locked in time? One thing they did know was that Cocoon was the last thing the saw before slipping into sleep, and it was the first thing they saw when they woke up.

There had been a minor debate about the decision of direction, however...

"_-but why not head back towards Oerba? Maybe we can find-"_

"_Vanille, what could we possibly find at that graveyard? It was dead when we left it." Fang argued but paused when she realized the harshness in her voice. She immediately regret the choice of words when she saw a sad look cross her fellow Oerban's face, "Look, I want answers as much as you do. I miss Oerba as much as you do; but it's been who-know-how long and we're who-knows-where." She pointed to the huge round mass in the sky, "The only thing we know for sure is that that is Cocoon and it was the last place we were before waking up."_

_Vanille was quiet for a long moment, seemingly studying Fang's face. Shoulder's slumping, eyes falling to the ground, he nodded, "Okay."_

"_We'll go back to Oerba one day." Fang promised, pulling the smaller woman into a hug, "You can count on it." She gave Vanille a slightly forced smile before turning and walking towards the edge of the clearing in the direction that had been decided._

"_And the others?" The question was so quiet, it barely reached Fang's ears. But it was enough for her to stop her dead in her tracks, and stop her heart for a split second. Cocoon may have been the last and first thing she saw before and after becoming crystal, but it was far from the last and first thing she'd been thinking about. The thoughts that flooded her mind the first few seconds while gasping for air were of strong__ flashes of _crimson, _soft waves of pink and brilliant __blue orb. And what immediately followed was the the fear and realization of probably never see them again._

"_One thing at a time." Was all Fang replied with before continuing into the wilderness._

"Alright! I'm recharged and ready to go" Fang found herself struggling for balance on her perch atop the fallen tree as Vanille's voice rang in her ears. Apparently the taller Gran Pulsian been deep enough in thought for it to have caused her to jump. She found the smaller woman bouncing on her toes atop the boulder she'd been resting on. Fang smiled at Vanille's unchanged ability to recover faster than anything else she'd come across in her life. Her absurdly long life, she added in her mind, letting out a small chuckle as jumped down from her own seat of rest. As she landed, she once again found herself losing her balance as ground beneath her feet shifted.

"What the-"

"Eek! Fang!" Vanille let out a yelp, slipping off the boulder as a large crack shot out from under it, causing it to sink quickly into the ground. Jumping and catching the other woman before she face planted into the still-shaky ground, Fang maneuvered them both away from the widening crack, keeping an eye out for any more. Then, as soon as it started, the shaking stopped. Confused and still on edge, Fang's protective hold on Vanille remained. Neither of them moved for what seemed like hours.

"Wh-What just happened?" Vanille broke the silence with the question that was on both of their minds.

"I have no idea," The taller of the two answered honestly, "But I think it's a sign we need to keep moving." There was no argument from Vanille as the both of them made their way away around the boulder now half buried in the ground. They skirted the edges, wary of any more unexpected movement from below. Fang's mind was racing again. Just like their strange surrounding, what had just happened was most certainly not something she'd ever remembered experiencing on Gran Pulse before. She'd been through a few mild earthquakes but they were long, drawn out-growing and fading gradually. This... tremor had barely lasted a few seconds, started and ended too abruptly to be natural. it also seemed— as the two of them continued on their way— that it had only affected and area of barely a few dozen feet from where they'd been resting. Too small, Fang thought, frowning.

As a few more minutes passed, Fang began to relax slightly. However, she was also reminded of how heavy her body felt, how sluggish her movements seemed—even after the break for rest. It was more than just the feeling one gets when they remain in one position for a long period of time; and when they finally move, their limbs feel locked in place. It felt like it did when one wakes up; already tired—as if not had enough sleep; as if woken up much earlier one was supposed to.

* * *

A/N:

Yey! More Fang and Vanille!  
...and more broodiness =\


	14. Learning

**Learning**

* * *

Eve actually winced when she saw the recruit hit the ground on his side. He let out a loud groan, rolling on his side. Eve, standing a few feet away by the field control station, watched as the young man struggled to recover from the throw.

"Again." Demanded Sergeant Major Farron, who had been the thrower.

Since training had started, the instructor had ordered the group to run the same obstacle course she had the day before. However, she also picked out individual recruits—going down the roster—to evaluate their hand-to-hand combat abilities. While doing so, she'd ordered Eve to watch the controls and records of the obstacle course.

Eve recognized the recruit. Lozieg Kadaj, if she recalled correctly. She remembered him from the day before official training had started. While she hadn't forgotten his hostile actions on that course, she wasn't the type to hold a grudge. In fact, she probably would have forgotten the incident entirely if it weren't for the other boy, Dajh Katzroy. No, a sneaky and underhanded attempt by a man whose ego was inflated—probably, as Eve assumed, to compensate for something—didn't concern her. Someone taking a blow to the face for her, that bothered her. Which meant so Dajh Katzroy.

"What did I say before the fight?" The Sergeant Major asked, waiting for Lozieg to get to his feet.

"Fight like my life depended on it." Answered the recruit, finally pulling himself to his feet. Inflated ego or not, Lozieg had lasted longer than many of the recruits before him.

"And which part of that did you not understand?" Came a harsh question, no doubt rhetorical, "Again."

After a brief moment of hesitation, the young man ran at her again. He was obviously more of a brawler than anything else but nevertheless, it gave him at least a slight advantage over the others. Still, it mattered little. His opponent easily managed to kick his legs out from under him and pin him, face down on the ground, one of his arms locked behind his back.

"Again." Came another order. He struggled against the hold but failed to break it, "What are you waiting for, Kadaj?" Eve continued to watch out of the corner of her eye, "Again."

"I can't!" Lozieg hissed loudly, ceasing to struggle against the grip. He suddenly gave a pained grunt as the Sergeant Major firmly pulled on the arm on his back.

"The fight isn't over Kadaj, you're still alive." She stated simply, "Now, get up." Another tug on his arm incited another choke of pain. Eve found herself clenching her jaw as she could no longer keep her eyes away.

"I... can't..." The recruit repeated, his voice dripping with defeat. The Sergeant Major held the lock for another few seconds before releasing him and stepping away. Lozieg cradled his arm but didn't pick himself up. While Eve could tell it wasn't broken or dislocated, she could tell the pain Lozieg was feeling probably felt like it. She also knew if it hurt any less, he was the type of person to at least attempt to pull the tough-guy act and claim it hadn't hurt at all.

"Take a ten minute break, Kadaj." The officer near him instructed, "Then get back on the field." Eve watched Lozieg make it to his feet and slowly head towards a small table that'd been set up with a water dispenser.

When she turned back to the Sergeant Major, she noticed the older woman was still staring off into space. Eve had noted she had been distracted all afternoon. She hadn't shown up in the morning so Eve had been forced to cover for her. Though Eve had gotten a strange impression of her the first moment they met, she quickly found that the Sergeant Major was direct and to the point; and most of all focused. Something was bothering the other woman, that much Eve knew. But more than that, she wanted to know the reason for the distraction. She was curious—no, concerned—and it irked her.

Still observing the distracted Sergeant Major, Eve was reminded that not only did she not show up until after lunch, the superior officer had arrived in a full combat CRYSIS uniform—complete with a weapon hanging in a holster behind her. All ranked officers had a light uniform for training and a separate, lightly-armored one for missions. It was rare for and officer of any rank to have their weapons while inside CRYSIS HQ—let alone during a class session not involving weapons training.

"Is there a problem, DeFluo?" The object of her concern snapped Eve out of her own distracted thoughts. Eve found the Sergeant Major staring directly at her.

"No ma'am." She answered quickly, turning back toward the controls in front of her.

"Shut down the course."

"S-Sorry?" Eve looked back over at the other woman. The Sergeant Major motioned to the controls, adjusting her gloves.

"Shut it down."

"Yes ma'am." Eve replied, tapping in the controls, powering down the lasers and lighted force fields. The recruits running the field stopped abruptly, confused. They all looked towards the control station. Eve watched the pinkette wave them over.

"All of you over here." The recruits wasted no time gathering to stand in front of her. Eve powered down the rest of the control station and moved to stand near the group.

"Can any of you tell me what it means to survive?" The question took many of the recruits off guard.

"Be the strongest?" Lozieg answered. Eve could practically hear all the eye-rolling.

"Let me rephrase," The Sergeant Major continued, blatantly disregarding the answer, "How do you survive a fight for your life?" The officer began pacing back and forth in front of the ground, "You're opponent is stronger, faster..." She paused in her pacing, "...possibly smarter than you." Eve actually felt the need to hold back a scoff, "How do you survive?"

"Run away?" Only a few other recruits dared to snicker at the smartass answer. Eve saw that it was Dajh's friend from the other day—Denzel Abel, she believe was his name.

"I asked you how to survive, not how to be a coward." The Sergeant Major's quick and harsh response quelled the snickering almost immediately, "If your opponent is faster than you, what point is there to run away?" Eve found herself becoming more and more interested in the little game of questions and answers the Sergeant Major seemed to be playing. She watched the officer scan the group of recruits until the crystal blue eye met her own.

"DeFluo." Eve nearly jumped at the sound of her name. The Sergeant Major motioned her over. With little hesitation, Eve stepped towards her, "Now, attack me."

"Ma'am?" Eve questioned, looking between the recruits and the officer who'd given her the order.

"Think of it as... helping me provide... a visual aid for the recruits." Came a cryptic explanation. While Eve hesitated to drop into a combat position, she felt her heart rate increase and a spark of excitement gut, "Now, attack me." The Sergeant Major repeated, "Fight like your life depends on it."

Eve launched herself at her opponent. True to her rank, her hand-to-hand combat skills were a much higher level than the recruits. Due to this, she lasted longer on the offensive. However, thought all her attacks reached her opponent, they were easily blocked or evaded. Eventually, as anyone would expect—even Eve—the Sergeant Major began countering. Soon enough, Eve found herself narrowly escaping blows from her opponent. It wasn't long before she was knocked off her feet by a quick kick to her side.

"Congratulations, your skills are impressive as it says in your file." The Sergeant Major observed verbally. Eve kicked up onto her feet, avoiding a kick aimed for her head, "You've obviously paid attention to your training." She attempted to block the flurry of punches from the other officer, focusing on the most immediate threat, "But I believe I said to fight like your life depended on it." Eve was unable to anticipate and prevent taking a blow to the face which was followed by another kick to the side. It was a swift blow but it was enough to slow her down slightly.

Her opponent didn't give her time to recover as she charged again. Taken off guard, Eve blocked the initial punch out of reflex but the follow-up sent her reeling; a knee to the gut sent her to the ground. She tried rolling out of the fall but was kicked over onto her front, her arm pinned behind her.

"Get up, DeFluo." Eve heard as she struggled against the lock. She winced as her arm was pulled across her back, sending a short, sharp pain through her shoulder, "You aren't dead yet." The voice was firm but there was no malice in it.

There was another sharp pain her shoulder. As she bit back a pained yelp, the thought ran through her mind that she'd lost. Were this a real combat situation, she'd die if she remained pinned. Realizing this, she felt a strange feeling wash over her. It was like a wave of heat; like fire or electricity. She didn't want to lose. She didn't want to 'die'. She wanted to survive.

Tucking her free arm under her body, she used it to help push herself onto her back. She saw a flash of surprise cross the Sergeant Major's face. Using the opportunity, she used a knee to flip her opponent over her head. As she did so, she reached for the holstered weapon and pulled it free. Whatever it was, it would give her the advantage over her opponent.

Jumping to her feet, she felt her hand move on reflex, flicking upwards, then sweeping outwards. As she aimed the weapon at her opponent, she saw it was a blade. A folding blade? With a trigger?

Distracted by the strange weapon, leaving herself open, she received a jab to her side. It loosened her grasp on the handle. A kick to her wrist and she lost her grip altogether; a light blow to the back of her leg sent her down onto one knee. She moved to recover but as she turned she heard a loud clicking sound and found herself looking down the barrel of a gun.

Eve froze. As her eyes focused on the face behind the gun, the heated anger that had been driving her had disappeared completely. Before she could do anything else—think anything else—the Sergeant Major pulled the gun away, deftly folding and holstering it.

"Good." Was all the pinkette said as she helped DeFluo to her feet. Eve was still a little too shaken to read the other woman's face before she turned to the recruits.

"The CRYSIS Corps. protects and to protect you need to survive. To survive is to not give up." The Sergeant Major stated, "No matter how far you fall, no matter how hard it gets." She paused, scanning the recruits in front of her, "Training with me will only get harder. You'll need more than physical strength and speed. If you aren't prepared for this, I suggest you seek training elsewhere." She warned, "There are plenty of others that can teach you how to be strong and fast; I can teach you how to survive."

Listening intently, Eve found yet another strange feeling creep up on her. One she didn't think she'd ever felt before. Admiration? Awe? She was still trying to define the feeling as she watched the Sergeant Major turn and walk away from the recruits, off the field.

"Here endeth the lesson."

* * *

**A/N:**

This is way too long...  
And way too... weird...

UuuUuuUUUUUuuuugh  
I don't even think I know what I'm doing anymore =\  
Other than writing about face-pwnage ala SgtMaj Farron...


	15. Secrets Best Kept Safe

**Secrets Best Kept Safe**

* * *

"And he's sure?"

"He wouldn't make a mistake with something like this."

Hope and Amodar were conversing in the latter's private office. Hope had requested the meeting to discuss a particularly concerning call he'd received a few minutes prior.

"Alright," Amodar sat back in his large office chair, rubbing his chin in though, "So? What is it you suggest we do?" Hope didn't answer immediately. The call hadn't actually been for him. Snow had tried to contact Lightning but she hadn't been answering her comm. Once Snow decided to try and reach Hope, the First Lieutenant found himself relieved that Snow hadn't been able to reach Lightning. The incident at Baseline that morning had stressed Lightning out worse than he'd anticipated.

"I've already explained it to Snow but I think it's best Sergeant Major Farron doesn't know about this." Amodar's eyebrows shot up in mild surprise.

"Farron? Her stress-levels have been through the roof since this morning," The older man recalled, "If this has anything to do with what happened at Baseline-"

"It's a big _'if'_, Councilman." Hope interrupted, "I only barely managed to get her to return to training—she'd skipped the morning session, trying to investigate the incident herself."

"Barely managed?" Amodar quoted, "Something tells me I should feel sorry for the recruits." Hope didn't disagree.

"Honestly? As much as I trust Snow, it's still possible he's wrong—this could be nothing. I understand it's a lead but Lightning has already been assigned responsibilities and really shouldn't have to deal with the added stress."

"So what about the crystals?"

"I can go and meet with with Snow. I can investigate the scene quickly and quietly—Light doesn't have to know." Amodar sat silently, continuing to stroke his chin in contemplation.

"And if Villers is right?" Hope didn't answer the question. He'd asked it a dozen times himself but still hadn't formulated an answer. There was silence for another long moment before Amodar sighed and stood from his chair, adjusting his Council robe, "Alright. Head to Oerba Neo, find out what you can about the crystals, report directly back to me." Hope nodded and gave a formal salute, "I hope you understand what you're getting us into, Estheim." Amodar added, as Hope moved to leave the office.

"Don't worry councilman, whatever comes of this, just try to make sure word doesn't get out—especially to the Sergeant Major."

"You misunderstand me First Lieutenant," Amodar stopped him again as he moved to look out the window behind his desk, "Keeping this from Farron is what worries me the most." With a knowing chuckle, Hope save another salute before leaving the room.

Checking the time—4:50pm—he decided he'd make his way to Oerba Neo by nightfall, spend the morning investigating the scene Snow had been talking about, then hopefully return to CRYSIS HQ before lunch the next day. Turning a corner he ran into another officer.

"Sorry, I-" He turned but stopped when he caught a glimpse of pink.

"My fault, I apologize-"

"Light." Hope said as the other officer had already turned to walk away, "Er, Sergeant Major-"

"Hope." Lightning realized who it was she'd bumped into and had decided to stop to talk, "Sorry, I was just... heading to see Amodar."

"Oh? What's up?" Hope asked, noticing a clear expression of concern on her face. He knew she had been stressed when he'd dropped her off at the training field after lunch but this was different. Something had happened during training, "Light?"

"No, I just wanted to talk to him about weapons training." Weapons training? "For the recruits." Hope raised an eyebrow. It was general routine that most recruits at CRYSIS Corps. began basic weapons training halfway through their first year but he knew Lightning's training style. She put a strong—almost unnecessarily strong—emphasis on learning not to rely on weapons. He honestly thought she'd have waited until the next training year until even thinking of putting weapons in their hands.

"Weapons training. Alright, but since when do you need to talk to Amodar about weapons training? Any training officer is cleared to allocate weapons to recruits-"

"I know Hope, I've read the manual." Lightning interrupted, irritation lacing her voice. Hope decided to back off. He opened his mouth to change the subject but Lightning spoke again, first, "I wanted to talk to him about T-FA training."

"T-FA?" Hope was now officially confused, "Lightning, they're first-year recruits—you don't put first year recruits through T-FA training-"

"Again, am aware of that Hope." Lightning once again, interrupted, "If they're as good as Council claims, they should be able to handle it." Hope's jaw tightened slightly. He saw her point and he'd taken a brief look into the recruits in her class—they did have some impressive potential. But weapons training was one thing, T-FA training was something else altogether.

T-FA training involved the use of Tri-Fold Armament devices. The CRYSIS Corps. had begun research and manufacturing of said devices almost 4 years ago; and it was only even more recently that they'd begun developing training for them.

The basic principle behind the T-FA devices were based on the Guardian Corps. gunblades that—even then—were assigned to only the best of the best. This, along with modified Crystal-Force (a replacement for the now-unavailable manadrives used on Cocoon) resulted in a specialized CF gauntlet paired with a weapon bearing two forms: a firearm and a blade.

The only type of T-FA device that had been declared authorized to use in T-FA training was the Switchblade—a pistol that folded out into a short blade. Even so, the advanced training wasn't open to recruits, only to ranked officers. And even then, only a 3rd of the trainees managed to adequately control the device. Hope could probably count the officers who had fully mastered a T-FA device on one hand—Lightning being one of them.

To put recruits, who hadn't even started basic weapons training, through T-FA training was a level of reckless he hadn't seen Lightning display in a long time. Again, Hope came to a conclusion that this had little to do with the incident at Baseline in the morning. His thoughts jumped to her afternoon training session.

"Light, is this about DeFluo?"

"No! Yes! Not...completely." Came a jumbled answer. The tensing of Lightning's shoulders however, told Hope that it was, "They're soft but the council wasn't lying when they said the recruits were skilled. Yes, T-FA training is significantly different from basic weapons training; but it's because it's so different that makes the T-FA devices so difficult to master." Lightning began to explain, "If these recruits start with T-FA training, they won't have the basic weapons training drilled into their minds to distract them." Hope processed the theory carefully and eventually decided it did make sense.

"Alright, but how does DeFluo factor this?" He didn't get an answer for a long moment. Lightning ran a hand through her hair, sighing as if struggling with an explanation. Eventually, she dropped her hand and met his gaze again.

"She wielded it perfectly." Came a statement that confused Hope at first. He then noticed her hand resting on the handle of her gunblade, "I challenged her to one-on-one combat, she not only managed to swipe my weapon but she folded it out to blade-mode flawlessly, like it was second nature to her." Hope studied the Sergeant Major's face. He couldn't quite read the expression on it.

"It couldn't have been a lucky fluke?"

"I know this gunblade like the back of my hand," Lightning stated solemnly, "Blade-mode is mode two. You have to go _through_ gun-mode to get to blade-mode. That's two maneuvers that even some of the best weapons specialists at CRYSIS can't do without cutting themselves or shooting themselves in the foot." Hope found a lump form in his throat that he forced away with a swallow.

"So... you want DeFluo to participate in the T-FA training as well?"

"I want her to test the A-L prototype."

"What?" Hope found himself nearly yell his response. He cleared his throat but failed to completely calm himself, "Lightning, that's insane! The A-L prototype is still being developed! You, yourself said it wasn't ready and refused to participate in any of the initial tests!"

"I already have my gunblade, I don't need a different weapon."

"That's not the point, Lightning!" Hope forced her to meet his eyes, placing a firm hand on her shoulder, "I understand how you feel about the recruits and T-FA training; and I understand how you feel about DeFluo-"

"Do you?" The pinkette shot back, hotly. Hope found himself unable to answer honestly without eating his last statement. He sighed heavily, recognizing the look in her eye and the tone of her voice. Swallowing thickly, he backed off.

"You're more than just a fellow officer to me Lightning, we're friends—family even." Hope paused, careful to choose his words carefully, "Whatever you decided to do, I trust in your judgment. Just... be careful." The pinkette seemed to think on his words for a few long moments.

"I'm a big girl Hope," the Sergeant Major assured him, giving him a small smile and a pat on his arm, "I can take care of myself." Though not full convinced, Hope wasn't lying when he said he trusted in her judgment. He decided to leave it at that.

"Alright." He said with a nod and smile, "I was just with the Councilman actually," The First Lieutenant motioned down the hall he'd come from, "he should still be in his office."

"Oh? Thanks," Lightning began to walk away but stopped, turning to look back at Hope, "What did you need to see Amodar for?"

Another lump formed in Hope's throat. His brain began to freeze up, struggling to provide a plausible... alternative to the truth as a response. This was bad, he thought; all topics of T-FA training, recruits, Lance Corporals and weapon prototypes forced from his mind.

* * *

**A/N:**

Something tells me this chapter ran away from me...  
...just a feeling.


	16. Brief Meetings

**Brief Meetings**

* * *

Dajh let out a heavy sigh as he checked checked the time. It was a little past 7 in the evening. He was presently waiting outside the barracks area for Denzel. Dajh wasn't really surprised that he was late, but it didn't make it any less troublesome. When he finally saw the taller boy exit from the building, he pushed off the wall and walked toward him.

"Yo!"

"Took you long enough." Dajh stated as they both began walking down the small street away from the dorms.

"As if you weren't expecting I'd be late." Denzel teased with a laugh in his voice.

"The fact that you'd assume I'd expect that—and still show up late..." He trailed off, "Now, what does that say about you? Hmm?" His response was just another laugh. It hadn't really meant to incite an answer anyway.

"Damn I'm tired!" Denzel said loudly, slouching heavily as to emphasize the statement, "Officer Farron's pretty hard core, isn't she?" Dajh didn't disagree, but he hadn't been surprised at the spartan-like training she'd introduced to his class of recruits, "She just about twisted my arm off while she was testing my hand-to-hand combat."

"Taking into account the area where your hand was... aiming..." Dajh began and purposely trailed off into a pause again, "Let's just say the Sergeant Major probably isn't the only woman who'd react that way." Denzel just smiled sheepishly.

"What? She's an... impressive-looking lady!" He nudged Dajh's arm, "C'mon even you can agree to that." Dajh actually laughed at the thought.

Appearance aside, Lightning had been like an older sister to him growing up. Not only had the thought never crossed his mind—ever—he had grown up with a habit shared by many of the males that were close to Lightning or her sister. He tended to disapprove of anyone made any type of advance on them that may have been sparked by their 'impressive looks'.

"Speaking of impressive." Denzel motioned across the street. Dajh followed his gaze to see Lance Corporal DeFluo walking in the direction of the main gate, busy with a datapad, "-course by impressive, I mean impressively out of her mind." Dajh caught the latter part of his friend's statement, "I mean... who pulls a weapon on their superior officer? The superior officer's weapon! On the superior officer?"

"Hey! DeFluo!" Dajh called, attempting to get the young officer's attention. The memory of the Lance Corporal's fight against Lightning was still clear in his mind. He'd never seen someone take the pinkette so off-guard. Even before that, he'd still been curious about the young officer since she'd knocked Lozieg onto his ass the day they met.

"Wait-? What-?" Denzel, grabbed his arm as he moved to cross the street, "Dajh, what're you doing-?" Dajh looked down at the hand on his arm, then back up at Denzel, confused.

"I'm saying 'hi'." He stated the obvious, pulled his arm away firmly, "What're you doing?" He began crossing the street again, ignoring any answer Denzel had tried to give, "DeFluo! Lance Corporal!" He finally managed to get her attention and caught up with her, attempting a relax salute, "Hey."

"Hello." The officer replied with a quick salute of her own.

"Where are you heading? You busy?" He asked as he motioned over his shoulder in the direction of Denzel, "Because, Denzel and I grabbing a quick drink." He could already see the answer of decline on her face, "You should come, you look like you could use a little fun."

"Dajh, my dear boy," Denzel's voice hit his ears as he felt his friend sling an arm over his shoulder, having finally caught up, "The Lance Corporal probably has... Lance... Corporal-y things to take care of, she can't be slumming it with lowly recruits like us." Dajh looked over at him, eyebrow raised, "What?" He turned to the young woman, "She's probably tired from training today too—very impressive skills by the way, to be able to keep up with Officer Farron-"

"Yeah, it's been a long time since I've seen someone who could hold their own against Lightning." Dajh spoke up, voicing his own praise.

"Wait... you know Officer Farron?" Denzel asked.

"I mean, when I was a kid I used to watch her spar with a couple of guys that could at least keep up with her," Dajh continued, leaving Denzel's question unanswered, "But none of them ever had the guts to use her own gunblade against her—and if they did, she'd have probably knocked them on their ass before they could figure out how to use it. It's a pretty complicated weapon to-"

"You know the Sergeant Major?" DeFluo interrupted him. He felt a smile creep up on him as he realized he may have found a way to at least keep her from leaving, "How well?"

"Pretty well, I can try and tell you what you wanna know." Dajh answered with a small smirk, "We could talk over a couple of drinks..." He trailed off, giving her time to think about it.

"Give me a minute." DeFluo finally gave her answer after a long period of contemplation. She pulled out a comm. device and turned, apparently using it to send a message.

Dajh's smirk grew into a grin of victory. He turned to Denzel to show it off but found the other recruit making a strange face.

"Are you... pouting?" Dajh asked, holding back a small laugh.

"It's not fair man," His friend said, sighing and shaking his head, "It's so not fair." Before Dajh could find out what he was going on about, DeFluo snapped her comm. device shut.

"Alright, but I have to leave before 9."

"Plenty of time." Dajh said with a nod as the three of them head down the street.

Their destination was a mere 5 minute walk from the barracks which was in the general CRYSIS district, just outside the actual headquarters. It was a relatively small yet impressively popular bar/restaurant that many of the younger members of CRYSIS frequented (both recruits and enlisted officers). Denzel and Dajh weren't exceptions—the latter assumed the opposite about the Lance Corporal, however.

It was still a little early for there to be too large a crowd so the three of them easily found a seat in a booth near the entrance. Denzel immediately excused himself to go get a few drinks from the bar. Dajh noticed the young officer seemed a tad uncomfortable with the setting.

"So, why do you want to know about Lightning?" Dajh asked, attempting to distract her from her obvious unease. It seemed to work. DeFluo turned to look at him, her eyes focused, no longer distracted by her surroundings.

"I wasn't given anything regarding the Sergeant Major when I transferred." DeFluo explained, "It's only natural that I'd want to know about my superior officer." Dajh nodded slowly, still suspecting there was much more to it than that. Nevertheless, she'd answered his question.

"Well what do you know so far?"

"Just the basics." DeFluo answered quickly, placing the datapad on the table, "Her rise in rank, bits and pieces of her history with CRYSIS." She paused, a frown briefly appearing on her lips, "Still, not a lot."

"What exactly is it you want to know?" Dajh watched the Lance Corporal closely. Her expression told him that she didn't really have an answer. He opened his mouth to offer suggestions but was interrupted when Denzel placed three mugs of beer on the table and slipped into the booth next to him. Taking one and beginning to drink, he slid one over toward DeFluo.

"Lance Corporal."

"No, thank you." She politely declined. He shrugged and slid it back toward him.

"More for me." Dajh rolled his eyes, "So, tell us about the great Officer Farron." He continued, nudging the Neo Oerban playfully, "Any dirty little secrets we should know about?" The only response was a scoff.

"I noticed her association with CRYSIS goes much deeper than her official military records." DeFluo spoke up, "And not just CRYSIS, with the Crystal Council too." She paused, fiddling with the datapad in front of her, "Though it makes sense since the CRYSIS Corps. are a branch of the Council."

"You have a point, though." Dajh answered, "She may be a Sergeant Major but she has the influence of a general within CRYSIS—possibly the Council too. She has a history with Councilman Amodar." He explained further, "I believe he was her superior officer while the CRYSIS Corps. were still the Guardian Corps." All citizens of Crystallinus were taught the history of how the Crystal City, Crystal Council and CRYSIS Corps. came to be.

"Oh! Hey!" Denzel pointed at Dajh before he could say anything in response, "Isn't she like a hero or something? I remember someone from our old squad going on about it—she's got all these connections because she was one of those l'cie or something." The word struck a chord in Dajh that send a shiver up his spine. It wasn't necessarily a bad feeling, but it was far from good.

Most of the history of Cocoon before the crystallization; regarding the fal'ie and l'cie had either been lost, forgotten or had evolved into bedtime stories parents told their children when they asked about the floating planet above the city. It was rare to find anyone these days that could accurately tell the story of what happened to Cocoon a decade ago. Those who could—Dajh included—found it difficult to talk about.

"So the Sergeant Major is a l'cie." DeFluo voiced her conclusion of the information.

"Was." Dajh corrected out of reflex. He remembered his friends and family back in Oerba Neo reminding him about how since there were no longer fal'cie to control them, they were no longer l'cie. Even their marks had disappeared, he remembered, glancing down at his right hand, "The l'cie are no more, well... except for-"

"Dajh!" A voice called, catching his attention, effectively cutting him off. He saw a familiar face near the door. It was Hope, carrying a small duffel bag. The older man made his way over to the booth, "I'm glad I caught you." Dajh stood up, remembering military protocol. The light-haired officer was in uniform so the other two caught on, recognizing the insignia he bore. They were soon on their feet as well, saluting.

"Please, there's no need for formalities..." He trailed off as he caught sight of DeFluo, who was the last to sit back down. Dajh noted Hope held the younger officers gaze for an unusually long time, "Lance Corporal DeFluo, right?"

"Yes sir." DeFluo nodded quickly.

"First Lieutenant Estheim," Hope said, offering a hand, not breaking eye contact, "Nice to meet you." The Lance Corporal took the hand slowly. Dajh raised an eyebrow, fully aware that something was going on that he didn't know about and—judging from her expression—neither did DeFluo.

"What's up Hope?" He asked, attempting to direct the First Lieutenant's attention away from the bewildered young woman. He succeeded. The officer motioned toward the door over his shoulder.

"Can we talk outside? Just for a sec."

Shooting a brief glance at the other two seated at the booth he stood up and nodded, following Hope out of the establishment.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing seriously, I'm heading back to Oerba Neo for the night," Dajh immediately tensed up, regretting the decision to gain the other man's attention and agreeing to leave the company of the other two.

"Really?" Dajh made a poor attempt at showing excitement, "Say hi to the family for me."

"Was there... anything in particular you wanted me to give to your father?" Came the question Dajh was dreading.

"Thanks but no." Dajh answered a little too quickly, avoiding Hope's eyes. He wasn't quite ready to think of anything to do with his father quite yet. Dajh knew he couldn't keep putting it off forever but if he was going to deal with it, it wouldn't be through someone else.

"Alright." The older man said simply. Dajh met his eyes again. They shared a brief moment of understanding before the First Lieutenant chose to excuse himself, "Well then, I'd best be off." He smiled warmly before heading off down the street. Not before—Dajh barely noticed—he threw one more look towards the restaurant.

As Dajh re-entered the restaurant he found Denzel sitting at the booth but himself. DeFluo was nowhere in sight. Still scanning the rest of the establishment, he slid back into the booth. While turning to question Denzel about the Lance Corporal's whereabouts, he found himself on the receiving end of a rather painful punch to the arm.

"Ow-! What the hell, dude!" He turned to Denzel who was pouting at him again, "What?"

"A First Lieutenant as well? Are you kidding me?" Dajh just shrugged, not seeing what the big deal was. Denzel just shook his head, picking up the second mug of beer, "Seriously... _so _not fair."

* * *

**A/N:**

Dajh has daddy issues...  
DeFluo has Farron issues...  
Denzel has... issues... of what, I'm not quite sure.

I have writing issues.


	17. Spark of Light, Flash of Hope

**Spark of Light, Flash of Hope**

* * *

Fang sat, leaning against a large tree trunk, watching her orange-haired companion shuffle about near the recently built fire. The sky had grown dark and the air have become cooler—much cooler than the warrior ever remembered it getting. More than once she'd caught herself shivering.

She looked down at the piece of fruit she'd just finished eating. Vanille had managed to find a bush full of what looked like engorged berries sporting small flowers blooming out the top. After a rather amusing scene involving Vanille making sure the flowered berries weren't actually critters of some kind, the smaller Oerban had declared it dinner for the evening.

Fang dropped the remains of the fruit in her hand to the ground. It had only been one of three that she'd eaten. It wasn't that they tasted terrible she just hadn't felt like eating. Besides, she couldn't have had any more even if she were hungry, the small pile they'd picked that had sat by the fire were now a pile of flower tips by Vanille's feet.

"Do you think we'll make it to the crystal tomorrow?" Vanille's voice brought her eyes up to see Vanille staring skywards towards the dead planet, "It didn't look too far away when we started but it doesn't look like we're getting much closer either." Fang didn't disagree, the pillar of crystal hadn't seemed to have gotten any bigger as they'd made their way towards it during the day. The logical explanation was that it was much larger than either of them had initially thought.

"We'll make it there eventually." Was all she said, the softness of her words not hiding the determination behind them. Judging from the silence that followed, Fang assumed Vanille was content with the answer. Finally looking away from the towering figure in the sky, she found the other woman staring at her. Well, _had_ been, she'd quickly averted her eyes as she met Fang's. It didn't take someone knowing Vanille since she was 5, to see that she obviously had something on her mind. Something wanted to say.

"Vanille."

"Yes?" Came the squeak of a response. Fang waited patiently—as she always did—for the smaller of the two to eventually break the facade and say what was on her mind. But as the forced silence continued, Fang noticed Vanille didn't just look like she wanted to say something. She looked worried, concerned—disturbed even. Upon seeing the very rare expression on her friend's face, instincts developed over the long course of their friendship kicked in.

"Hey," Fang began, motioning Vanille over, "c'mere." Vanille didn't need to be asked twice. She all but bounded over.

"Everything's changed." The taller Oerban silently cursed at herself when she heard the sadness in Vanille's voice, "Again."

"I know." Fang wrapped an arm around Vanille protectively.

"Everything except us."

"I know."

"We don't even know if there's anyone else left." Vanille went on, her voice cracking with sorrow, "What if there isn't? What if... what if we're the only ones left Fang? I don't-"

"Hey, hey," Fang soothed, tightening her arm around the smaller woman, "We'll figure something out." Her head now buried in Fang's shoulder, Vanille nodded, "We'll be fine, we still have each other."

"I know." Came a muffled response, "Just..." Vanille lifted her head to look at Fang, "I miss them Fang." The warrior's heart just about broke when she saw a look of anguish on Vanille's face. It went past unhappiness and was more than just tears. It was hopelessness and fear. It was a look she'd only seen once before and when she had, she promised she'd prevent it from ever appearing again.

"I do too, Vanille." Fang pulled the now-crying Vanille back into a hug, "I miss them too."

Continuing to soothe Vanille, Fang slowly began to feel the other woman relax. Eventually her breathing slowed and evened out and Fang realized she'd fallen asleep. It shouldn't have been surprising, they'd been walking practically non-stop for the entire day. Once again, Fang kicked herself mentally at being too wrapped up in her own mind to remember Vanille was in the same situation.

Fang frowned as she played back the day quickly in her mind. She mentally kicked herself, realizing she may as well have disregarded Vanille completely, the way she behaved. Yet Vanille continued to be Vanille, always smiling, always seeing the bright side. They'd been together for so long, Fang had just grown accustomed to it—taken it for granted. She'd forgotten that Vanille was just as susceptible to pain, sorrow and grief. She was just as fragile and vulnerable as anyone else—if not more so.

Fang placed a gentle kiss atop her friend's head in silent apology before turning her eyes toward the sky again. She hadn't lied. As hard as she tried not to—as much as she willed herself to avoid thinking about them—she shared longing to see their friends. Snow... Sazh... Hope...

"Lightning." The name left Fang's lips in a soft sigh.

Lightning Farron. As graceful as she was fierce; strikingly beautiful; wise past her years, with the stubbornness of a child. The Cocoon soldier had imprinted herself in Fang's mind over and over, each time inciting a new realization for the Oerban warrior. Like how she rubbed the bridge of her nose when she was irritated; or shifted her weight when she wasn't being completely honest. How she never spoke unless it were needed—or something managed to annoy her enough.

Lightning's voice was strong and firm but had a delicacy to it that Fang found addicting to hear. This sparked Fang's endless quest of annoying the soldier as often as possible. The warrior never got tired of hearing Lightning's voice—be it serious, angry or sad.

The Oerban felt another frown form on her lips as another memory occurred to her. One of the last things she remembered before falling into her crystal sleep. The voices of her companions as they woke from theirs. The words were unclear, she couldn't remember any of them. What she did remember was Lightning's voice. Whatever it had been that she'd said, Fang heard something she never had before. No pain, no sorrow, no anger. The words were filled with joy and relief—they were said through a smile. Fang had accepted her fate. Accepted the fact the cost of saving Cocoon, saving her friends—saving _her—_would mean saying goodbye. But what Fang wouldn't have given to see that smile on Lightning's face.

Feeling Vanille shift in her arms Fang found herself sending a silent prayer into the night sky. A prayer for a chance to do anything to bring their friends back.

Then, as if sent as an answer, something flew across her line of sight. Fang blinked a couple of times in bewilderment. Yes, it'd been only for a few seconds but that wasn't what had surprised her. From what little she saw, she could make out that it couldn't have been anything natural. Too close to be a shooting star, too bulky for it not to have wings. Lit from the inside with a quiet hum as it'd flown by—it was a small airship or shuttle.

Fighting against the tiredness in her body and mind, Fang took into account that the airship had come in the direction of the crystal pillar. This meant they were not only heading in the right direction but that there was a chance they'd find more there than ruins. Something more than memories of the past.

With the thought of seeing the Vanille's face when she told her the news, Fang finally allowed herself to relax, giving into sleep. Inklings of hope began to grow and suddenly, it didn't seem so cold.

* * *

**A/N:**

Oh look! More Fang and Vanille!  
Yes, yes, yes, we all know Fang's gaga over Light but I've apparently developed a soft spot for Vanille so I needed to include some of her emotional distress.

In other news, RL may start kicking my ass again soon so updates may not be as uh... what's the word...  
Steady? Mmm frequent? No... consistent! Yes, that one.  
This doesn't mean I won't be writing anymore. If anything it just means that chapters may be posted in batches for a little while.

So don't hurt me! X3


	18. A Necessary Lie

**A Necessary Lie**

* * *

"You said _what_?" Snow said through a loud laugh. The younger man both the question and laughter were directed at stood a few feet away, rolling his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I'm sorry, Hope..." Snow raised a hand in feeble apology, "I'm sorry just..." He gasped for a breath, catching the other man's eyes.

"As glad as I am that I can amuse you," Hope motioned to the ground between them, "Could we focus on why we're here, please?"

"That's really what you said to Li-"

"Snow!"

"Alright, alright." Snow nodded, composing himself. He scanned the area Hope was referring to. A particular area of grass was disturbed, had been matted down by something heavy. Glimmering between the blades of distorted grass were slivers of shattered crystal, "Gadot and Maqui found this, yesterday." Snow explained as Hope knelt to take a closer look himself, "I came out here with them to see for myself."

"Was there anything else here?" Hope picked up a couple of the crystal fragments and examined them closely.

"No." Snow answered, watching the other man, "Nothing, just these shards."

"Well something was here that isn't now." Hope tilted his head, scrutinizing the disarranged area again, "Something... fairly large."

"If it moved... wouldn't that have meant it were alive?" Snow pointed out. Hope just nodded in agreement, still focusing on investigating their surroundings.

There were any clear tracks in and out of the clearing. He did note one of the smaller trees had been snapped in half. Examining it closer it looked as if it'd been done so to create an exit out of the clearing. Upon closer inspection of the broken thicket, Hope noticed the cleared path seemed much too clean and calculated to have been any wild creature.

"So what does this mean?" Snow's question grabbing his attention away from the foliage. The member of CRYSIS Corps. walked back over to where he was still kneeling, "Why didn't you want Light to know about this?" Hope caught the rare, solemn expression on the other man's face.

Snow's hero-complex and general macho attitude towards pretty much anything and everything hadn't made him immune to the passing of time. While he was still as much of a child as his sons and was still far from being the smartest tool in the crayon box; he'd grown in character just as much as any one else. He was still the 'hero' but was also a father, a husband and held responsibilities concerning the protection of Oerba Neo.

"The night before last, something happened at the Crystal Pillar." Hope began explaining.

"Fang and Vanille." Snow immediately stood, glancing in the direction of the aforementioned landmark, "What? What happened?" Hope had wanted to keep the situation under wraps and under control but all the signs were pointing in the direction of more questions than answers. But he realized the two Oerbans were Snow's friends too—and that the older man cared about them just as much as he did.

"They disappeared." Hope answered quickly and simply. Snow blinked, processing the two words for a long while. Eventually his gaze dropped to the ground.

"So you think...?" Hope nodded at the incomplete question.

"The specific type of crystal is obvious evidence." Hope voiced a few of the findings, "And the small path out of the clearing over there?" He motioned to the disarranged thicket, "It's definitely not the work of a creature of the wild." Now standing farther from the edge of the clearing, Hope noticed yet another thing about the break in the wall of vegetation, "What's more is that whatever—or whoever—is responsible is most likely heading back towards the Pillar."

"To Crystallinus." Snow added, catching on. The two of them glanced at each other. Hope looked away first, taking out his comm. device. Already connecting to the shuttle back at Oerba Neo, he began walking out of the clearing.

"So what are we gonna do?" Snow asked, catching up.

"You mean, what am _I_ going to do," Hope briefly glanced up from his comm. to give Snow a hard look, "_I_ am going back to the city."

"And what am I supposed to do Hope?" Snow grabbed the First Lieutenant's arm, stopping him abruptly, "Sit on my hands and do nothing? If there's any way I can help find Fang and Vanille-"

"I don't doubt that Snow, but you have responsibilities in the village." Hope reasoned, "This investigation still needs to remain as low-key as possible." The younger of the two found Snow searching him with his eyes.

"You're not going to tell Light, are you?"

"Not yet."

"What?" Hope found Snow staring at him with an expression of pure puzzlement—as if Hope had been speaking in a different language, "Why?"

"Because she doesn't need this right now, Snow."

"What she _needs _is to know that there's a chance Fang and Vanille are back-"

"Yes, a chance!" Hope interrupted, his temper flaring, "You saw how losing them affected her and how long it took for her to even begin to come to terms with it!" He saw Snow open his mouth to interject but raised a hand to stop him, "Until I find something that proves for sure that Fang and Vanille are alright—crystallized or not—I refuse to risk losing Light to her own recklessness again."

There was a silence as Hope forcibly calmed himself. It wasn't quite awkward as he noticed the understanding in Snow's eyes. Still, it irked him. Snow was right in saying Lightning deserved to know. It was what Lightning would do with the knowledge that worried him.

"I may not have a choice in the matter." The First Lieutenant eventually sighed, turning and continuing to the truck the both of them had used to get there, "If it was them and they were heading towards the Pillar, it's more than likely they'd have made it to Crystallinus by now."

The two of them fell back into silence as they entered the vehicle and began the short journey back to the village. As hope finished communicating commands back to the shuttle, snapping his comm. shut, he heard a strange scoffing sound from Snow. Turning to the driver just in time for Snow to let a stifled laugh escape, Hope frowned.

"Care to share, Snow?" The other man just looked over at him briefly before returning his eyes to the road, shaking his head.

"Nah I just... I still can't believe... out of all the excuses to use-"

"Oh just shut the hell up and keep driving." Hope scowled, only receiving another laugh in response. He sat, irritated for an entirely different reason, the whole way back to the village.

Upon entering the village, Hope head directly for the shuttle landing pad. He asked Snow to take care of his farewell, deciding not to waste any time in returning to Crystallinus. He'd spent the entire previous evening with Snow and his family—extended members included. Gadot, Maqui, even Sazh-

"Leaving without a proper goodbye, she's trained you well." Speak of the devil, Hope thought with a smile. He found the ex-pilot leaning against the stairs up to the shuttle pad. After a brief smile, Sazh's face turned serious, "So? What did you find?"

"Well," Hope started, holding out a few of the crystal fragments, "Snow was right about the type of crystal."

"So where did they come from?" Sazh asked, closely examined the fragments, "The only crystal of this type left is at the tip of the Crystal Pillar." Hope didn't respond. Sazh glanced at him, his focus leaving the crystal fragments almost immediately at the look on the officer's face, "They've thawed?"

"Fang and Vanille are no longer at the Pillar—but nothing's for sure right now." Hope stated the facts, "There is a lead, back to the city." Sazh remained quiet, as if attempting to put pieces together himself.

Hope knew that Sazh—being the eldest of the l'Cie during Cocoon's crystallization—had the most wisdom and experience to deal with the loss of their two friends the most effectively. It didn't mean it affected him any less. Particularly Vanille; the both of them had developed a significantly strong bond during their time escaping together. He'd grown to see the small Oerban almost as a daughter-figure and likewise, he a father-figure to her. Perhaps this had been due to the ex-pilot longing to see his only child again. Hope couldn't know, he never asked, it was just something that'd developed during the end of their world. Like his admiration for Light; Snow's realization of guilt; Light's rival-based friendship with Fang which he would later learn was something much deeper.

"Sazh, about Dajh..." Hope pulled himself from the past.

"How is he?" Sazh asked, her voice calm but his eyes apprehensive.

"It's hard," Hope began picking his words carefully, "We haven't had many chances to talk recently, he's been busy. Training under Light of all people-"

"You don't have to make excuses for anything, Hope." Sazh pat the First Lieutenant's arm, giving the younger man a small smile, "I know he's probably still angry."

Hope had always felt a pang of guilt when reminded of the rift between Dajh and his father. Sazh has tried everything to persuade Dajh to stay away from Crystallinus and out of the CRYSIS Corps. It wasn't that the ex-pilot dislike the new city or its government. He just wanted his son to live a normal life—as far away as possible from the place he'd almost lost him.

Sazh's over-protectiveness of his son was probably his biggest mental weakness. Sometimes it seemed as if the image of Dajh encased in crystal was imprinted on his mind, driving his need to keep his son within close reach. Dajh and Hope had grown to be good friends over the years. They'd both talked about training to defend both Oerba Neo and Crystallinus.

They'd drifted apart slightly since Hope had joined CRYSIS long before Dajh. But they'd been close enough for Hope to realize that the time Dajh started getting serious about leaving home was around the same time his beloved chocobo companion, Nebu, died. Hope didn't know the details (he'd been in Crystallinus at the time). Just as well, he hadn't known if there was a direct connection—he still didn't know—and probably never would. If he found out, it would be because Dajh chose to tell him.

"I doubt it's even about him being angry, anymore." Sazh snapped Hope back to the present.

"I think he wants to talk." Hope spoke honestly, recalling the short exchange he'd had with Dajh before he'd left CRYSIS, "I think he's just... trying to figure out what to say."

"I know." Sazh nodded slowly, "And all I can do is wait." There was no tone of complaint in his voice, just acceptance, "Just... keep an eye on him, will you?"

"Of course." Hope reassured, "I know Light will as well."

"Speaking of Officer Farron," Sazh straightened up with the change of topic, "What does she have say about this?" Hope sighed heavily, anticipating the same conversation he'd had with Snow earlier in the morning while they'd been driving to investigate the clearing Gadot and Maqui had found.

"I assume that means she doesn't know, and not she doesn't have anything to say about it." Sazh asked rhetorically, eyebrow raised. Hope avoided the older man's eyes, shaking his head, "Well she obviously knows about the Pillar... how did you manage to convince her to let you come out here alone?"

"I didn't." Hope answered, "Well, I mean I didn't exactly tell her... I was coming out here... specifically." Hope didn't miss the perplexed look on Sazh's face.

"You lied... to Lightning?" The tone in the older man's voice was layered in disbelief. Hope rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, it was necessary, alright?" Hope ran a hand through his hair, "Look, she caught me coming out of General Amodar's office right after I'd talked to him about coming out here; she asked me what I'd talked to him about."

"Uh huh." Sazh responded, impressing the First Lieutenant with his ability to look amusingly impressed and mildly disapproving at the same time, "What did you tell her." Hope just groaned in response, "Well, now you gotta tell me." The younger of the two turned to Sazh, giving the ex-pilot a pleading look. It didn't work, Sazh just continued to wait patiently, his eyes gleamed of anticipation.

"I... told her I was asking the General for dating advice."

Hope didn't know which was worse: the unending bouts of laughter he suffered through while around Snow, or the stupified look of overwhelming incredulity on Sazh's face.

* * *

**A/N:**

Poor Hope. Not really. Well... maybe a little bit...  
I think I made Snow too... not-Snow =[ BLAH  
More Sazh.

This is a terribad chapter. I apologize.


	19. Pleased to Meet You

**Pleased to Meet You**

* * *

It was almost noon by the time Alva alighted the shuttle and began the short walk to the orphanage. Like the day and night before, she hadn't slept well and in the morning she'd felt even weaker. She had argued with Eve about attending class that day. The older of the two agreed with the condition that Alva would only go in for the afternoon classes and that Eve would meet her at the orphanage midday for lunch to check on her.

It wasn't so much the concern Eve displayed that morning that bothered Alva. What bothered her was the Eve's mood from the night before. Alva, herself, had been excited. She'd taken the object she'd found in the tool-shed by the orphanage and lugged it home (eventually, it felt like it was heavier than her). She'd done so—not completely without deliberation—with the intention of asking Eve exactly what it was and why she'd hidden it years ago.

With the object propped up against the back of the sofa in the small living room, she'd waited for Eve to arrive home from CRYSIS. Now, Alva had gotten use to the idea of Eve occasionally being late so when she received a call of that nature from her older sister, it didn't shock her. What did was how Eve sounded. She sounded somewhat distracted, distressed almost. And she'd ended the call before Alva could ask if everything was alright.

Slowly, Alva had remembered how much she'd wanted Eve to be with her, earlier that day. Perhaps something had happened at CRYSIS? Maybe they found out they'd been sneaking around the Pillar? Was Eve in trouble? If she was, it was her fault. Eventually, Alva began to regret deciding to dig up the past. She hid the unknown object in her room, planning to return it the next day.

"So here I am," Alva muttered as she huffed, hauling the object wrapped in a sheet as to not draw attention—well, less attention than if it weren't, "What could this thing possibly be useful for?" She grunted, trying to find the best way to carry it, "How did I even manage to get this thing home?"

Eventually giving up a few yards from the orphanage's main gate, she lowered the object to the ground, against a low wall. Breathing heavily, she also dropped her backpack and flopped against the wall. Her head was spinning a little and her arms ached.

"Alva?" Eve's voice almost sent her flying off her resting place, it seemed to come out of nowhere. Steadying herself, Alva looked down the street to see Alva walking towards her, a bag in her hand.

"Hey." Alva squeaked, throwing a glance at the object near her backpack as she jumped down to her feet, hoping she would obstruct Eve's view of it, "You're... you're early."

"Yeah." The older sibling nodded as she reached her. Alva watched Eve reach into the back and take out two drink cans, "Apology for last night."

"O-Oh." Alva took the cans. Noticing they were fruit juices, she smiled, "Thanks." She smiled, placing one down on the low wall and opening the other, beginning to drink—apparently she was thirsty. She was on her fourth sip when she noticed Eve looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She stopped immediately, choking a little on the fifth sip, "What? ...I'm thirsty."

"Apparently." Eve acknowledged. She lifted the bag in her hand, "Sandwiches."

"Right! Lunch! Food!" Alva blurted nervously, "We should... eat! Here, now." she put her drink down and reached for the bag that moved out of her reach. She met a mismatched pair of eyes staring at her suspiciously.

"Okay, what did you do?"

"Nothing." Alva said quickly, "I'm just... hungry and... tired. I didn't sleep well last night and all." Concern and guilt replaced the suspicion in Eve's eyes. For a moment, Alva didn't know which made her more nervous.

"Right, sorry." Eve grabbed a sandwich out of the bag and handed it to Alva before leaning against the wall, "You're still feeling sick?" Relieved that she hadn't been seen through, Alva let out a small sigh of relief.

"Hungry and tired," She corrected, jumping up to sit next to her sister, "not sick." While she was happy she'd managed to distract Eve from her not-so-subtle screening of a certain hidden object, she also knew she didn't want the older girl to be worried. She couldn't really ask about the night before because she didn't want to take the chance that it was related to what had happened at the Pillar.

"So... how's CRYSIS?" She blurted out before she could stop herself.

"It's... interesting." Eve answered after a moments pause, "The class was given the rest of the day off." Alva nearly choked again, this time on her sandwich.

"Wh-What? Why?"

"Officer Farron, the training officer— my superior officer— requested that I participate in some special training in the afternoon." Eve explained, her voice distant, "Apparently the training is only open to ranked officers."

"Special training?" Alva asked through another bite of her sandwich, "What kind of special training?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well that's unusual." Alva admitted. She noticed a questioning look on her sister's face and shrugged, "Well just... I wouldn't have thought you'd accepted anything without knowing what exactly it was." Eve held her gaze for while before turning away, sighing heavily.

"Me neither."

"Hmmmm, is he good looking?" Alva asked suddenly, finishing her sandwich and opening her second car of juice. She looked to find Eve staring at her again, this time with confusion painting her face.

"Wh-What?" Alva just shrugged, taking a sip of her juice, "Officer Farron is a woman and _SHE_ is my superior officer." Alva swallowed her sip of juice, holding back a grin.

"I see... well is _SHE_ good looking?" The sight of Eve gaping, at a loss for words threw Alva over the edge as she let out a laugh, "Well why else would you accept? I know you, you wouldn't be interested in any special training." She quickly let out a gasp, "Wait a minute... just how _'special'_ is this training-?"

"OKAY!" Eve pushed off the wall, shaking her head, waving her hand dismissively, "_We_ are not having this conversation because _you_ are going to class, come on." She motioned towards Alva's backpack, grabbing the empty can of juice and sandwich wrapper, stuffing them in the bag she was holding. All the while Alva was struggling to finish her drink through her giggles. She quickly stopped at hearing Eve's next question.

"Alva, what's that?" The younger of the two saw Eve's eyes on the wrapped object that, for a while, had managed to escape her thoughts. She panicked for a second before attempting to come up with something.

"That's uh... for a project..." She began, using the last few sips of her juice for time to think, "For one of my classes—we're building something! Group project, gets the kids outside, not all cooped up in their classrooms, y'know?" She groaned inwardly at the feeble attempt to cover but Eve seemed to buy it. If anything the previous topic of conversation had disturbed her enough to keep her distracted.

"Okay well, do you need help carrying it?" The elder asked, moving to grab it, "I can grab it for you-"

"No, it's okay!" Alva jumped off the wall in an attempt to stop Eve, "It's actually kinda-" Eve lifted the object up off the ground with ease, examining it briefly before turning to Alva, "Heavy..."

"What are you doing carrying anything like this around anyway, you're sick." Eve said, motioning to Alva's backpack, still on the ground at her feet. Blinking away the shock and awe, Alva grabbed it and swung it over her shoulder as they both began walking the short remaining distance to the orphanage.

"I uh... I managed." Alva answered distractedly. She knew Eve was strong but the older of the two look liked she were carrying a stick. She was still watching Eve curiously when they reached the orphanage gate. Alva snapped herself out of it to stop Eve from carrying the object the rest of the way, "It's okay, I got it from here." Eve seemed hesitant but nodded.

"Okay," She rested the object against the side pillar of the gate, "But at least try to take it easy today?"

"Yup. Sure. You got it. No problem." Alva assured, already shooing her off, "Go, go take part in whatever_ 'special training'_ this Officer Farron has planned for you."

"Cheeky brat." Was all she heard as Eve turned and jogged away, waving over her shoulder. Alva watched her until she turned a corner, out of sight. Finishing of the last sip of juice she eyed the object against the gate pillar. She frowned, the stupid thing had caused her more stress than she needed—and she hadn't even figured out what it was yet!

"-scuse me?"

"WHA-?" Alva whirled around, the can of juice slipping from her fingers into the air, flying a good few feet away.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" The voice formed an apology. Alva ended up facing a girl mostly likely older than herself by not by much. Friendly face, cheeky grin, bright green eyes, her hair in pigtails and the strangest choice of clothes- "idn't mean to scare you."

"Huh? No I... you didn't-I mean you did but..." Alva trailed off, taking a breath, calming herself, "Can I help you?"

"I just got separated from a friend of mine-oh..." There was surprise in the girl's eyes, "Sorry, you sort of... look familiar."

Alva remained quiet. She'd have been lying if she said she'd heard the phrase a lot. In fact, Alva hadn't met anyone else even remotely resembling her—her sister included. Unlike Eve she had pale skin; she was shorter than other teens her age; her hair was light gray—silver almost; and her eyes were both a dull gold color. One could say she looked rather eccentric. To Alva her appearance was that of some sickly kid to be pitied or coddled, unable to take part in the more... energy-consuming joys of life. It was part of the reason behind her animated and occasionally overzealous personality.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I know you." Alva finally responded, her curiosity regarding the stranger already beginning to grow.

"Oh, right!" The girl grinned again, extending a hand, "I'm Vanille."

* * *

**A/N:**

_*eats mysterious object*_


	20. Welcoming Party

**Welcoming Party**

* * *

As Lightning grew closer to the meeting place she'd asked DeFluo to report to that afternoon, her grip on the large case she carried tightened. Her meeting with Amodar the evening before did not go as she had planned. In fact, as soon as she'd brought up the idea of her recruits going through T-FA training, he'd firmly said 'no' almost immediately.

"_What's your sudden interest the T-FA devices, Farron? Why do you want the SwitchBlades for your recruits?"_

"_It's not the SwitchBlades I'm interested in." Lightning admit with a sigh, refusing to beat around the bush anymore. It was never really about the SwitchBlades. A perplexed look appeared on Amodar's face, "Alright so maybe the recruits aren't ready for T-FA training quite yet; let me train DeFluo."_

"_Your training assistant?" Amodar's eyebrow shot up._

"A _Lance Corporal, a ranked officer."_

"_Even if I were to allow this, you just said you weren't interested in the SwitchBlades." _

"_I'm not." Lightning stated simply, staring the General in the eye, "I want the A-L prototype." She saw disbelief in Amodar's eyes first; followed by realization; then shock._

"_Farron, you're the one that insisted the prototype wasn't ready yet-"_

"_I'm saying it's ready now." Lightning interrupted, her patience wearing thin once more. Amodar picked up on this. He also knew the look he was giving her was not one to take lightly. No matter what he said, she'd probably get what she wanted, one way or the other. Shaking his head, sighing heavily, Amodar began rubbing his temple again._

"_I don't like this, Farron."_

"_You don't have to like it," Lightning responded quickly, "You and I both know I have enough authority within CRYSIS to make the decision myself—you may still be my superior officer but I came to you as a friend." Amodar couldn't argue, Lightning had the influence of a two star General at least._

"_Why didn't you just ask me then, Farron?" Amodar pulled one last counter, "Why the pretense with the SwitchBlades?" The Sergeant Major didn't answer right away. She seemed to be attempting to find the right words._

"_I was... trying subtlety." Lightning's simple, honest answer was met with a hearty laugh. _

"_Ah Farron, the day you pull off subtlety getting what you want is the day you start going by your real name." The unamused look on the Sergeant Major's face did nothing to quell his own mirth, "Alright, take the prototype—but understand that you are held fully responsible for both it and Lance Corporal DeFluo."_

"_Yes sir." Lightning answered with a quick salute before the General could change his mind. She exited the room with equal haste._

Lightning gently placed the case on the ground upon reaching the meeting place. Her determination to test the contents of said case with DeFluo wasn't completely without doubt. She realized the risk but could not ignore her instincts, the feeling in her gut. She'd learning not to. She'd learned that from F-

"Officer Farron." A voice cut through her thoughts. Lightning watched DeFluo walk up the street toward her. She also noted the Lance Corporal and come from the main gate. "My apologies, I had a... lunch engagement." DeFluo continued, as if reading the pinkette's mind.

"No need to apologize DeFluo," Lightning raised a hand. While it was rare for any CRYSIS personnel to leave the district merely for lunch, it wasn't against protocol, "What you do out of training is your business." Steeling against the vexing sense of nostalgia whenever she looked at the Lance Corporal, Lightning didn't miss Defluo's glance down towards the case at her feet, "I'll warn you once more, this training with be difficult and dangerous, different from anything you've seen or heard of at CRYSIS." The pinkette observed the expression of the Lance Corporal closely, anticipating the suspicion—or at the very least, hesitation, "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Came the immediate answer. Scanning the dual-colored eyes, Lightning found only determination, resolve and... excitement? The pinkette immediately looked away, suddenly recalling darker eyes that had always held the same look.

"Good, come with me-" Before she could even reach of the case at her feet, the ground jerked violently, sending both her and DeFluo to the ground. The split-second of stillness that followed was not enough for Lightning to recover as another tremor began to shake the street. No, this was no tremor—it was growing too violent, too fast, Lightning thought as she got to her feet but remained low to the ground. This was a full-on quake.

A literally earth-shattering crunch filled the air as the street began to split, a crack shooting down it, branching off towards the building lining the sides. Following one of the smaller branches zipping towards her, Lightning noticed the case near her feet sliding away along the uneven ground.

"Damnit-!" She jumped at it as it skid toward the gaping division of the street but it'd gained too much momentum along the unnatural slope of the ground. Before it could disappear into the split, the pinkette saw DeFluo jump, landing on her side but close enough to where she was able to grab it, "DeFluo!" Lightning ran the short distance between them but as soon as she reached the Lance Corporal, both officers were thrown backwards a good few feet.

Using the momentum to roll onto her feet, Lightning spotted DeFluo a few feet away, sitting up, the case still in her grasp. Before she could even begin to consider a plan of action, Lightning caught a glimpse of what had thrown her and DeFluo. It hadn't been part of the earthquake—in fact the powerful convulsions in the ground had now been reduced to intermittent shudders. No, whatever had flung DeFluo and herself had turned crack in the ground into a small fissure.

Protruding out of the division was what resembled a large limb of a creature of some kind. Lightning found herself rooted in place as she watched the limb begin to thrash desperately, dragging out the body it was attached to. And what pulled itself from the crevasse was like nothing she'd seen before.

The creature was twice the size of the average human and looked as if made of an almost thick, gelatinous goo—caked in dirt, stone, scale and crystal shards. As it became free, raising itself up off the ground, it revealed two other limbs—legs—giving it a humanoid form. But that was where the similarities ended. An array of appendages, all at least 3 feet long, protruded from where one shoulder should have connected to an arm. The other arm was disproportionally large—so much so that the creature's fist rested on the ground while it was standing more or less upright. The creature had no head, and out of its chest protruded a blood red crystal.

Upon completing her quick assessment of the creature, Lightning came to a realization that the creature that stood before her was in fact, something she had seen before. Something she thought she'd never see again.

"Cie'th." The very sound of uttering the word left sickening taste in her mouth. She hesitated only long enough to swallow the lump that'd formed in her throat before drawing her gunblade and launching herself at the creature. Wasting no time, she directed her first attack at the pulsating red crystal jutting out of its chest. She felt her blade deflected by something a split-second before it reached her target.

Jumping a good distance away, the pinkette noticed the creature hadn't moved. But her attack hadn't connected, something had stopped it. Clenching her jaw she rushed toward the entity, aiming another attack at its center. Again, her blade never reached the target and still, the creature did not move. More frustrated than bewildered, Lightning shifted her weapon into gun-mode and let loose half a dozen rounds into the creature's chest.

Or so she thought. This time, the creature had moved. The appendages on its shoulder had stretched in size and were curled over its chest, forming a protective barrier around the crystal. Upon shrinking and moving away, the crystal was revealed to be completely unscathed. But Lightning didn't have time to be in awe, the appendages suddenly shot out at her, extending themselves. She evaded most of them and parried a few but the last one managed to wrap itself around her forearm, limiting her weapon mobility.

"Sergeant Major!" DeFluo's voice caught Lightning's attention. Busy with the unknown creature, Lightning had forgotten about DeFluo. She saw the Lance Corporal out of the corner of her eye. She still held the case.

"DeFluo, the case, open it." The pinkette instructed, never fully taking her eyes off the creature that still had her forearm. As she switched her gunblade to her free hand, she saw the remaining appendages fly toward her again. It was much more difficult and it strained her arm and shoulder but she managed to evade the second round of attacks. She made a note that the creature had to retract the stretchable limbs before 'firing' them again—similar to reloading a gun. It explained why there was a constant pull from the extremity around her forearm.

"This weapon isn't loaded!" She heard another yell from the Lance Corporal. Glancing over long enough to see DeFluo grasping a uniquely large assault rifle, Lightning brought her own weapon down on the hold around her forearm. Slicing her blade across it, she found it too touch to cut through.

"That weapon has two modes." Lightning further instructed DeFluo as she continued to struggle against the grip she was in, "Like my gunblade, it has two forms." Lightning paused in her attempt to get free when she saw the creature step towards her, dragging its large arm by its side. She was certain the arm was as dangerous as it looked heavy, and was confident she would have little trouble keeping out of its way. However, her maneuverability was limited by the creature's hold on her forearm.

Suddenly, taking her off guard, the appendage with a grasp on her jerked her forward. She didn't react fast enough to be able to counter the force and soon found herself within reach of the creature's monstrous arm. In the middle of forming a defense strategy, a flash of metal crossed her line of sight. As she felt her arm become free, she was shoved aside—out of the path of another barrage by the shoulder appendages.

Steadying herself, Lightning looked up to see DeFluo finish parrying the last two extremities, now wielding five-foot long lance. The pinkette felt a subtle sense of gratification as she realized the younger officer had successfully shifted the prototype weapon into mode two—without prior knowledge of it no less. The feeling quickly wore off when Lightning caught movement behind the other officer.

"DeFluo-!" The warning came too late. Preoccupied by the smaller limbs, the Lance Corporal hadn't noticed the creature swing its arm. Her reflexes enabled her to attempt a block but it did little to prevent her from being sent a good half a dozen feet away.

Confirming the younger officer was still alive—seeing her already crawling back towards the lance she'd evidently lost her grip on—Lightning's gaze returned to the creature. The swing of its arm had pretty much forced its back to the two officers. Its sluggish movements were an attempt to swivel itself back around.

Multiple limbs that provided both offensive control and defense. An additional limb that provided offensive power. Skin tough enough to withstand a full-body thrust with a heavy blade—well, for the most part. Lightning unwrapped the dead extremity from her forearm. It's only weakness so far was its slow recovery from using it's arm. Lightning felt a flicker of frustration begin to burn in her chest. It slowly spread through her arm to her clenched fist. If DeFluo were any closer, she'd have heard a faint crackling sound coming from the pinkette's hand—the sound of a series of small electrical discharges.

"Well, ain't you just the ugliest thing." The voice halted Lightning's thoughts; it ceased the sound in her fist; it even stopped her heart for a second or two. She recognized the voice. She knew it as well as she knew she couldn't have been hearing it, "Borrow your toy for a sec, kid?" Lightning's eyes darted toward DeFluo. There was a flash of silver before all she could see was DeFluo kneeling, the lance no longer anywhere near her. Returning her focus to the creature, Lightning struggled to believe her eye.

The creature still stood, but its shoulder appendages were now either limp or hacked off. Its massive arm was stopped mid-swing. Lightning watched as a blade cut clean through it. The severed limb hit the ground and the creature began to thrash around violently. Lightning's view of the one wielding the weapon was still skewed as the creature was between them.

A reflection of light in the crimson crystal caught Lightning's attention. Her grip on her own weapon tightened. Without all its limbs gone the creature was totally exposed. Before she had a chance to take advantage of the obvious opening, a blade shot out through the creature's chest, shattering the crystal from behind. As the blade was pulled back out, the creature fell forward. It hit the ground, limp, lifeless.

"See, now _that _is how you use a lance." The latest arrival examined the weapon before tossing it to DeFluo. The Lance Corporal barely managed to catch it, she looked completely overwhelmed. Lightning couldn't say she felt much different. She remained frozen in her spot as she confirmed the identity of the fallen creature's executioner.

"Sunshine..." The smooth, silky, heavily-accented voice felt like both music to Lightning's ears and a punch to the gut, "Fancy meeting you here."

* * *

**A/N:**

My writing skills... where has they gone?  
Terribad... terribad... terribad...

HECTIC RL STUFF SUCKS SOMETHING FIERCE!  
Can't write for sh** anymore T_T

_*goes over there somewhere to throw a tantrum* _


	21. Aftershocks

**Aftershocks**

* * *

Attempting to swallow the melon-sized lump in her throat, Lightning took a reflexive step backwards from the woman approaching her. As if it weren't hard enough to believe something like a Cie'th could pop out of the Earth; now a walking memory?

"F-"

Before Lightning could say or do anything, Eve stepped in to stand in front of her, weapon raised. The Lance Corporal tightened her grip on the A-L. After witnessing the stranger handle the Assault Lance, it was clear to Eve that there was a significant power difference between the two of them. It concerned her, how truly irked she was at the difference in power.

"Who are you?" Eve finally managed to ask. Behind her, Lightning was still trying to process the recent string of events, still unable to put words together.

"Friend of yours, Sunshine?"

"Identify yourself, now." Eve felt the itching irritation weave it's way into her tone of voice with every passing moment she glared at the stranger. It only proved to frustrate her more when an amused smirk appeared on the woman's lips, "I said-"

"Fang." Lightning finally found her voice. She put a hand on the Lance Corporal's shoulder, giving her a small shake of her head before turning her gaze back on the Oerban. Reluctantly, Eve lowered the Assault Lance.

"And here I thought you'd forgotten me." The warrior's grin grew wider, "Didja miss me?"

"I don't even... When did you...?" Lightning cursed silently. Apparently her words hadn't all returned yet, "How are you even-?"

"Believe me, I'd answer all your questions if I knew the answers, Sunshine."

A scoff escaped Lightning's lips as she turned away from Fang. Of course the Oerban shows out of nowhere after ten years and it's immediately fun and games. The Sergeant Major shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. It felt as though her brain was imploding with disbelief.

Interrupting the awkward silence, a shuttle landed a little ways down the street on one of the few level areas of ground. The three women saw another uniformed figure exit the shuttle and jog toward them.

"First Lieutenant." Eve acknowledged first, recognizing the man from the night before. She prepared to salute but noticed him freeze in his tracks. She followed his gaze to the woman her superior officer referred to as 'Fang'. Who _was_ this woman?

"Is that... Hope?"

"Fang." The First lieutenant addressed the Oerban in the same manner as Lightning—with hesitation and disbelief, "You... You're here." Hope glanced over at Lightning who was still looking away. He noticed her training assistant near her, the Assault Lance prototype in hand.

"And you're huge!" Fang raised her hand, comparing their heights. Doing some comparing of his own, Hope felt the urge to laugh at the physical similarities between Fang and Eve. Resisting the urge, he cleared his throat.

"It's... been a while since you..." He trailed off, shooting another look at Lightning, "Y'know..."

"Apparently." Fang looked between Hope and Lightning.

"Where's Vanille?" Hope asked after another brief moment of awkwardness, "Did you... wake up together?"

"Vanille, right," Fang rubbed the back of her neck, "We did wake up at the same time, a little over a day ago in the middle of the forest." The Oerban motioned in a general direction over her shoulder, "We headed here expecting to find ruins, we found a city."

"I see." So it had been them that landed in the clearing, "And Vanille she..."

"We got separated." Fang stated informed bluntly. Hope was amused at how not surprised he was, "We got a habit of doing that, huh?" Fang added, a pensive look briefly crossing her features, "Well, at least whenever we wake up after a few years of sleep in shiny rock, anyway." The added attempt humor failed to incite any laughter—from Fang, included.

Hope quickly processed the earlier information. It explained _'where'_ the two Oerbans had ended up but there was still the _'how'_ and _'why'_—not to mention the _'what now'_? It would have to wait, for a moment later there were a series of explosions in the distance. Caught up in the awkward reunion, both Hope and Lightning were reminded of what was still happening to the rest of the city.

"This is First Lieutenant Estheim," Hope pulled out his comm. device, "What's the situation in the city?"

"Firs... enant Estheim, this is... ports of unidentified creatures throughout the city..." Came a broken response hidden under a storm of static, "...least three within that district... ocated near..." The voice was drowned in interference.

"HQ?" Hope attempted to reconnect, "HQ, come in. Headquarters!"

"Okay, is it a military thing where you don't know that yelling at a comm. device is not the solution to interference?" Fang spoke through a small scoff. Lightning caught the Oerban's eyes for a ghost of a moment. It was so brief she almost believed it didn't happen. Pulling out her own device, she found the same static affecting it. The pinkette was about to attempt to suggest reporting back to headquarters when the connection broke through again—barely.

"-atest report of an unknown in your vicinity First Lieutenant." Hope and Lightning met eyes again, "...two blocks south of... eet along the park bordering... inancial district..."

"That's near the orphanage." Eve spoke up suddenly, her voice laced with dread, "Alva." Before anyone could do or say anything, the Lance Corporal turned and bolted off down the street.

"Lance Corporal stop, we don't have all the information!" He called after her, "That's an order!" The order remained disobeyed. Looking over at Lightning, the pinkette only returned his own perturbed expression.

"Okay, could we all just stop for a second and maybe somebody tell me what in the bloody hell is going on?" Fang caught both officers' attention. Hope was surprised when Lightning spoke first, almost immediately.

"There's no time right now." The Sergeant Major folded and holstered her gunblade and took off after the younger officer. Hope opened his mouth to stop her but immediately realized it was probably futile. Turning to Fang who just stared at him with a questioning, almost annoyed look. He disconnected his comm. device.

"She's right, the time for explanations will have to wait," He motioned over his shoulder towards the shuttle, "Come on, we'll catch up with them in the shuttle."

Further down the street, while running at full speed, Eve was silently praying Alva was alright. She realized the information broadcast through the First Lieutenant's comm. device was broken and distorted, and than there was a chance she'd misunderstood the message complete, but she refused to take the chance. The moment she saw the creature, a disturbing feeling filled her gut. And after experiencing it's power, she realized the feeling was fear. The thought of a creature like that being anywhere near Alva scared her even more. Gritting her teeth, she urged her legs to move faster.

Still pursuing the Lance Corporal, Lightning was vaulting over, ducking under, maneuvering past scattered rubble and broken street. She noticed the general damage of the quake was worse as they grew closer to where HQ had directed them. This led her to believe that whatever creature that may have been spotted there, was of greater power than the one they'd just killed—Fang just killed.

Flashes of the Oerban warrior's sudden appearance distracted the pinkette enough for her to miscalculate a jump over a large crack in the ground, barely keeping herself upright, Lightning cursed under her breath before forcing the thoughts of the other woman from her mind.

Focusing on catching the younger officer ahead of her, she found herself impressed at Eve's speed. She considered calling out to Eve as Hope did, but some part of her was content with the fact that chasing after the Lance Corporal got her out of an extraordinarily awkward situation—fast.

However, the reason behind Eve's sudden panicked departure did not escape Lightning's curiosity. She didn't know why, but she had the strong feeling that the expression of fear that flashed across the younger woman's face before she ran off was not something that occurred often. Whatever set her off must have been something more than the idea of an orphanage being threatened. Something clicked in the back of the pinkette's mind. That's right, her sister-

"Alva!" Eve yelled, darting around the last corner and climbing over another large piece of rubble. Landing on the ground behind it she slowed to a stop. One of the walls had collapsed, part of the roof caved in but for the most part the majority of the orphanage was still standing. Half the wall lining the street, along with the gate, had been destroyed. A giant crack—not unlike the one she'd witnessed minutes before—ran along the street, "Alva?"

Taking a few steps towards the building she stopped as something caught her eye. A few feet away, half buried under debris, in what looked like pieces, was what looked like a larger version of the creature she'd encountered before. As she moved to examine the remains she heard a soft sound to her right. Turning her attention toward the sound and her eyes widened at what she saw. She dropped the weapon she forgot she had been holding.

"ALVA!" Alva was lying on the ground on her back, unmoving, a small pool of blood under her torso. Kneeling by her was a light-haired woman holding what looked like a red lance, "Get away from her!" Eve screamed as she ran at the two of them. The woman, shocked, jumped to her feet. Eve skid to a stop near her sister, examining the small girl, "Alva?" A grimace crossed her face when she saw the a poorly wrapped gash in Alva's side. It couldn't have been more than an hour, tops, since she last saw her. Eve's jaw tightened, raising her gaze up at the other woman still clutching the weapon.

"What did you do?" Eve asked in a low voice. Were she thinking clearly, she'd have noticed that the fabric sloppily tied around Alva's torso was strikingly similar to the fabric that made the better part of the other woman's skirt. She would have noticed that the wound in Alva's side was rough and couldn't have been made with a bladed weapon like the lance in the stranger's hands. She would have noticed that the stranger in question was struggling to even _grasp_ the said lance, making it highly unlikely for her to be able to wield it. But Eve _wasn't_ thinking clearly, all she saw was Alva hurt and someone else holding a weapon.

"I-I didn't... sh-she... this isn't-"

"What did you do to her?" Eve demanded, stepping towards the woman.

"N-No wait, I didn't-"

"DeFluo!" A third voice rang out as Lightning finally caught up, slowing to a stop a few feet from them.

"Light!"

"Vanille?"

Eve, ignoring the arrival of the superior officer, advanced on this 'Vanille' and kicked the weapon in her hand, grabbing one end of the lance she swung it out of the stranger's grip. She flipped it around, a bladed end pointed at Vanille.

"DeFluo, stand down-" Lightning said slowly and calmly.

"Not until I find out what happened to Alva." Eve responded by raising the lance precariously near Vanille's throat.

"Light I swear I didn't do anything I was just trying to help I wouldn't ever hurt anyone you know that right? You remember it couldn't have been that long since-"

"Vanille," Lightning interrupted the steady yet panicked flow of words, reading the situation, "Not helping."

"Then allow me to help." Before even Lightning could react, Eve grabbed by the wrist, the weapon twisted from her grasp, "Kids should stick to their toys." Lightning watched as the Lance Corporal was thrown, hitting the ground at her feet. But Eve was up before Lightning could offer to help her.

"Fang..." Vanille hid behind the taller woman.

"Wrong move, little girl," Fang held her lance out at Eve. Eve took a step toward her but was stopped by Lightning. Hearing footsteps behind her, the pinkette glanced over her shoulder to see Hope jogging over.

Eve was too busy glaring daggers to notice anything but Fang and the weapon she held. She didn't even notice how familiar it looked or felt, holding it in her own hands moments prior. Why was she so angry? It was no longer just about Alva's wounds, it was no longer the smaller of the two strangers that held her attention. Just as it had been with the Sergeant Major when they'd first met, Eve found it difficult to back down from the challenger standing before her. No, with Fang it worse.

"Oh c'mon Light, your little friend thinks she can take me-" Again, Lightning found she had to prevent the Lance Corporal from jumping at the Oerban.

"DeFluo, enough!" She forced Eve to turn and face her while, "Stand down, that's an order." She unfolded her weapon, aiming it toward Fang to stop her from getting any closer, "And you..." She attempted to glare at Fang but found it extremely hard to maintain eye contact, "Stop helping."

"We need to get this girl medical help!" Hope's voice broke through.

As if a switch was flicked in her head, Eve's ripped her attention from the tall newcomer and ran over to kneel next to Alva, assisting Hope with moving her into a position where she could be picked up off the ground.

Reading the diffusion of the situation, Lightning felt her shoulders relax slightly but as she slowly turned back to Fang and Vanille, she noticed her weapon was still raised. Quickly re-folding and holstering it, she cleared her throat.

"Sorry, DeFluo is... my responsibility," she motioned vaguely over her shoulder in the direction of the other officers, "My subordinate, I couldn't let her get hurt." Her eyes darted down at Fang's lance.

"Right, your subordinate." Fang's tone was completely serious, angry almost. It caught the Sergeant Major's attention and brought her gaze back up to meet forest green orbs. Fang motioned to Vanille, still half cowering behind her, "And what about your friends?" The question may as well have been the thrust of Fang's lance into her chest. The CRYSIS officer opened her mouth to answer but found she was unable to respond. She still couldn't hold the Oerban's gaze long enough to read her eyes. The whole situation of the her—the both of them—returning, hit her again.

"Light, we've gotta get back to HQ!" Hope's voice once again brought all of them back to the reality, "C'mon, Fang, Vanille, you too!" The First Lieutenant was now standing farther down the street, just outside the shuttle Eve was carrying her sister into. Fang remained silent as she pulled Vanille past Lightning, heading towards Hope and the shuttle. A few moments later, blinking away the mist in her eye, the pinkette turned and followed.

* * *

**A/N:**

Yuck, that was hard.  
What? Fang and Vanille have been gone 10 years. It practically broke Light. It wasn't going to be a_ 'and they lived happily ever after'_-type reunion.  
Besides, there's all this other crap going on. What **_IS_** all this crap?

Blah.

Also... something is wrong with ff dot net. Cannot upload stories so had to use one of my old chapters...  
Not pleased =[


	22. Trust and Understanding

**Trust and Understanding**

* * *

"General, what's the situation?"

"Estheim, Farron." Amodar greeted them hastily between ordering certain personnel around the operations center, "Where the hell have you two been?" He then noticed Fang and Vanille standing in the doorway, taking in the room with hesitant interest. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking between them and the two officers that had reached the operations table.

"Yeah, our thoughts exactly-"

"What's going on, Amodar." Lightning cut the First Lieutenant off, already reviewing the information displayed above the table. Amodar and Hope shared a brief look before the General cleared his throat.

"A little over an hour ago a series of quakes hit the city—hard." He pulled up a layout of the city, visualizing his explanation, "During the quakes, unidentified creatures started breaking out of the ground-" A few recordings of some of the creatures popped up, "Each one takes at least two squads to take down. We've already lost three squads." He looked at the two officers, lowing his voice, "These things look like-"

"Cie'th." Lightning finished the statement, "That's because they are."

"What?" Amodar hissed, "Farron, Cie'th haven't been around for years, they disappeared with the Fal'cie-"

"Apparently they didn't." Lightning shot back hotly, shooting a glare at the General. When Amodar looked over at Hope, the First Lieutenant just gave him an apologetic look. Turning back to the pinkette, Amodar motioned past her towards the doors.

"Does this have anything to do with them?" Neither Hope nor Lightning answered right away.

"We don't know." Hope answered eventually. He looked over at the two Oerbans who were attracting attention with their lack of uniform—lack of any clothing for that matter. Both of their outfits looked more than worse for wear, "Light, maybe you should take Fang and Vanille away from here. Grab them a change of clothes or something, maybe a meal?" He noticed the pinkette tense up, "They're probably more tired and confused than we are." Lightning stared hard at him but he forced himself to hold her gaze.

Eventually the pinkette sighed and stepped away, saluting quickly. With a last look between Amodar and Hope, she turned and made her way to the two women standing against the doorway. Lightning cursed at how well Hope had learned to read her. Ever since all hell had broken loose, she'd slowly begun losing her head. And the Control and Operations Center was no place for an officer losing her head. As she met the taller Oerban's eyes, still hard and steely, she silently cursed again. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

"Come with me." She beckoned with her hand and led them out of the room and down the hall. As they made their way through the building, the silence felt like a growing weight on Lightning's shoulders and she swore she could feel Fang's eyes on her back, burning into her.

The three of them eventually came across a medical center. It was particularly hectic with frantic medics running around attending wounded soldiers. Lightning almost regret cutting through the medical center to get to their destination.

"Oh! It's her!" Vanille's voice managed to cut through the chaos of the area. Lightning turned and saw Vanille looking down another hallway, Fang next to her with a sour look on her face. The pinkette walked quickly back to them. Upon looking down the relatively empty hall she saw a rather distraught-looking DeFluo pacing back and forth outside a room. That's right, this medical center was the nearest one from the shuttle bay where they'd landed earlier. Her sister must have been treated here.

"Whoa there, where do you think you're going?" Vanille had started toward the Lance corporal only to be stopped by her taller companion. The smaller of the two looked between Fang and Lightning.

"I want to talk to her, explain what happened."

"Vanille, she tried to hurt you!"

"Because she misunderstood what happened to Alva." Vanille replied uncharacteristically calmly to Fang's panicked protest.

"Alva?"

"The girl that got hurt." Vanille continued to explain. A spark of curiosity hit Lightning. How was it Vanille knew DeFluo's sister? "Please." The smaller Oerban continued, looking now at Lightning. The pinkette hesitated for a long while before realizing that if Vanille knew DeFluo's sister, she must have had a pretty good explanation. She also realized that as much as the taller Oerban probably wanted to be, Fang being around DeFluo would do more harm than good.

"Fang, come on," Lightning spoke up, already turning back down the previous hall, "We'll get you a change of clothes and bring something back for Vanille."

"What? I ain't leaving Vanille with her!"

"Fang, please-"

"No! I'll be damned if I let you anywhere near her without me-"

"Fang," Lightning chose to step in, her patience draining ever so slightly, "Anybody who knows you, knows how much you care about Vanille," She stated the truth. The words were intended to be understanding but actually ended up sounding eerily empty, "So trust her-"

"I do trust her." Fang said in a low, almost offended voice.

"Then trust that she can handle the situation herself." Lightning said with an air of finality, "The locker room is three doors down, we'll be gone ten minutes, max." She added over her shoulder as she continued down the hall. She counted half a dozen steps before she heard Fang's footsteps hurriedly catching up to her own. As she had said, the third door on the right of the hall revealed a large locker room that also served as a storage area.

"There should be some spare uniforms in those lockers," Lightning motioned to a row of vertical storage units lining one of the walls, "It should be easy for you to find something that fits you." She moved to the opposite wall to some flat storage bins, "It might be a little harder to find something for Vanille." While she sifted through some of the older, smaller uniforms, the pinkette heard Fang opening and shuffling through the lockers she'd directed her to.

"I trust Vanille completely," The Oerban stated after a few seconds of silence, obviously attempting to continue the conversation from before, "You trust that kid not to hurt her?" The immediate answer that popped into Lightning's head was _'yes'_ and she couldn't explain why—though she couldn't immediately relay it aloud either.

"Her name is DeFluo," Lightning decided, carefully choosing her words, "And I trust that she'll listen to Vanille."

"You mean how she listened back when she found this... Alva girl?"

"Fang-" Lightning started, sighing, but stopped when she saw the Oerban had already decided on a change of clothes and was presently in the process of peeling off her current ones. The pinkette spun back around, praying to Etro the other woman hadn't seen her, "If you don't believe in my trust in DeFluo, at least trust that I don't want to see Vanille hurt."

There was another silence, with only the shuffling of Fang slipping into her new set of clothes. Lightning carefully checked to see if the other woman had finished changing. In seeing that she had, the pinkette found herself surprised at the choice of attire Fang had made. The Oerban warrior had slipped on a plain white, sleeveless training shirt and a loose, maintenance jumpsuit. She'd tied the top half of the jumpsuit around her waist and was slipping on a pair of standard military combat boots. Lightning couldn't recall seeing Fang in anything but her Sari. Granted, Fang's sari had as much character as the woman wearing it but even in the simpler—and let's be honest, slightly more practical—outfit, Fang still remained as sexy as ever. Lightning looked away, forcibly disregarding the last thought.

"Well, I'm glad I can trust you at least have Vanille's back" Fang's voice brought Lightning's gaze back toward her.

"What's that's supposed to-"

"You put your gun in my face, Light." Fang clarified harshly. The statement of fact hit Lightning like a slap to the face. As if she didn't regret the reflexive decision enough already.

"And I apologized." The hard, logical Sergeant Major took over the pinkette's brain, "But you were as ready as DeFluo was to throw down, and if that happened you and I both know she wouldn't have stood a chance." While Lightning spoke nothing but what she felt was the truth, the words still felt... wrong.

"I was protecting Vanille!" Fang defended fiercely, her voice raising in volume, "I was protecting my friend—my family-!"

"So was DeFluo." Lightning answered, her voice no louder, but just as heated as Fang's, "Alva is DeFluo's younger sister." She explained. She caught the slight retreat of the indignation in Fang's eyes, "If it were Vanille laying on the ground, bleeding out of her side with DeFluo kneeling over her with a weapon, could you honestly say you would've reacted any different?" Fang didn't reply. The silence provided its own answer.

Settling on a training uniform that she thought was the closest fit for Vanille, Lightning moved back toward the doorway. She caught the distraught look Fang was attempting to hide and decided it didn't suit her. She hadn't wanted to argue with Fang—she didn't know _what_ she wanted to do with Fang. She was still trying to process the fact that Fang was around to argue _with_.

"Look, Fang, I'm not defending what DeFluo did; she acted irrationally, disobeyed direct orders, put a civilian at risk and she will be reprimanded for it." Lightning remained standing in the doorway as the door slid open, "I don't condone her actions but I understand the reason behind them." The pinkette then turned to meet Fang's eyes once more, "I just... I think maybe you could too." Fang only frowned but she didn't continue to argue, "As if sharing your looks weren't enough..." The Sergeant Major added quickly and quietly as she exited the locker room.

Fang remained still for another few moments before following. Lightning hadn't intended for her last comment to reach Fang's ears but they had. The Oerban couldn't deny that she'd noticed the physical similarities between herself and DeFluo. It'd been something that imperceptibly irked her the moment she realized this. However, the moment she heard DeFluo speak, her voice commanding a distinct authoritative—almost domineering tone—all she thought of was Lightning.

* * *

**A/N: **

Heh, more like distrust and misunderstanding...

I had a dream last night that someone was cutting off the tips of of my fingers, one by one.  
I woke up and found I'd slept on my hand-and couldn't feel it o_0

Scary...

...just thought I'd share...


	23. And It Just Keeps Getting Better

**A/N:**

ZOMG before I forget, there's a special, hidden, super delux ultra bonus Chapter available in my deviantART gallery.  
I decided against uploading up onto here because... I had a fear... of death... by pixel-flames _

MOVING ON.

* * *

**And it Just Keeps Getting Better**

* * *

Hope ran a hand through his hair as he walked down the hall. He'd been with Amodar for a little over an hour gathering information on the situation. Crystallinus was still experiencing tremors and Cie'th were still being spotted in certain parts of the city. He offered to lead a squad out himself but Amodar had requested him to remain at HQ—if only to keep an eye on a certain Sergeant Major. Hope didn't argue with the General.

He put aside attempting to contact Lightning for the moment and instead chose to first check on the situation with DeFluo and her sister. He'd instructed the Lance Corporal to take her to the nearest Medical Center, which was conveniently in the same direction he and Light had been going. From what he could tell, the younger sibling had lost quite a bit of blood but had confidence in her recovery. Honestly, he'd been more concerned with DeFluo. He didn't need to have arrived any earlier to read the general enmity of the situation—particularly between the young officer and Oerban warrior.

In helping Amodar deal with all the chaos erupting throughout the city, Hope had been too distracted to really think about the return of Fang and Vanille. He was almost positive their return was linked to the Cie'th plaguing the city and that both were linked to what had happened at Baseline. If he was going to find answers, that'd probably be the best place to start.

Finding himself in the medical center, he scanned the general area, searching for either DeFluo and her sister or Light and their... guests. Upon asking a member of staff he was instructed down one of the quieter halls. As he turned the corner though, he almost ran into Lightning.

"Hope." The Sergeant Major recovered from the near-collision first.

"Li-"

"HOPE!" Vanille all but shrieked. The First Lieutenant almost jumped as his gaze shifted to the smaller Oerban practically tackled him, "Is that really you! You're all grown up! Look at you! You're so tall! And your hair is different!" Hope silently thanked Vanille and her natural ability to lighten any situation. He couldn't deny it was slightly amusing at how small she seemed now, compared to him.

Glancing at Fang, he was intrigued by the change of clothing—though he couldn't argue she pulled off the half-jumpsuit-look quite well. His eyes returning to Vanille, he saw she had changed too, but not into a CRYSIS uniform of any sort. She seemed to have lost most of the necklaces he remembered her wearing and her hair was no longer in pigtails. It hung freely past her shoulders save the small half-ponytail. She wore a light pink top, slightly less revealing than her previous one but remained sleeveless. Her skirt was a deep purple skirt, a white belt hanging loosely around her waist.

"Eve lent me some clothes." Vanille explained, as if reading his mind, "Alva had these in her bag." Hope looked past the group down the hall where Eve was sitting in on one of the seats outside the room he assumed her sister was in.

"She's asleep." Lightning stated.

"She said Alva's gonna be fine, she just needs to rest for the night." Vanille added, a happiness in her tone that only she could pull off. Turning his attention to Fang and studying her expression, he found it difficult to read. With a one last glance toward the Lance Corporal he motioned over his shoulder.

"Why don't we all go grab some fresh air for now?" He suggested, "We haven't really had the chance to... talk." There wasn't an immediate answer, "Y'know between waking up from a crystal sleep, Cie'th popping out of the ground-" he motioned down the hall toward Eve with his chin, "-bizarre doppelgangers-"

"Having guns shoved in your face." Fang muttered.

"Oh grow up Fang!" Lightning responded with a fed up look as she turned to walk away.

"Oh, yeah," Fang called after her, "Walk away Sunshine, that's real grown up!"

"I don't have time to deal with you right now Fang, I have a city to protect-" The Sergeant Major stopped. Hope had caught one of her arms and forcibly caught her eye. He knew that while Lightning could have truly felt she needed to be the Sergeant Major, she was being torn up inside by the presence of the Oerban warrior. He'd seen signs when she'd come across DeFluo—basically a look-a-like. Now with the real thing, he was afraid she'd break completely. The situation needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. Between the safety of Lightning and the Crystal City, he had no qualms picking the pinkette.

"Light, this needs to be done sooner or later," He said in a low voice, "I've talked to Amodar, he can keep the situation in the city under control. The Cie'th are still appearing but less frequently and smaller in size." The Sergeant Major responded by pulling her arm free but didn't continue her departure. Nodding victoriously, Hope turned back to the other two women, "First things first, I think it's best we start at Baseline."

"Baseline?"

"The bottom of the pillar connecting Cocoon to Gran Pulse." Hope explained, ignoring the pointed look of discomfort on Lightning's face, "I think its a good place to start figuring out what's going on."

"I don't kn-"

"Sounds like a plan!" Vanille interrupted her taller companion, practically pouncing on Hope again, "Oh, what about Eve?" The orange-haired Oerban turned to look down the hall again.

"Let her sleep." Lightning instructed, already making her way in the opposite direction. The other three shared looks before following.

The walk to Baseline took around 10 minutes but the awkward silence—save for Vanille reporting on more or less anything and everything of interest to her along the way—made it seem like hours. Most of the CRYSIS personnel had been ordered out into the city, leaving CRYSIS Headquarters relatively empty. They found little security around the Pillar area. A pair of guards just outside the entrance requested identification from them—Fang and Vanille included—but almost immediately withdrew when they recognized Lightning.

"We did... this?" Vanille—who'd been strangely quiet since they'd drawn close to the giant mass of crystal, "This is..." She skipped ahead, into the main chamber, "This is so..."

"Yes, it does have that affect on people." Hope spoke up, chuckling as he noticed even Fang looked rather staggered, "You two never really did fail to impress." Adamant on keeping Vanille from distraction, he cleared his throat, "So, do you either of you remember anything? Before you woke up?"

"I remember falling asleep to your voices." Vanille asked, poking at a rather interesting crystal formation near the inner shaft, "Then becoming crystal," Her voice lowered in volume but lost none of it's spirit, "I remember it was a weird feeling... like it was cold but warm at the same time." She turned to her taller Oerban companion, "You felt it too, right Fang?"

"It was... it was something." Fang attempted to elaborate, "It was definitely different than the time before—well, maybe apart from the world ending."

Fang had a rather unnerving point. Going by the Oerbans' track record, taking into account the worsening tremors and reappearance of Cie'th, it seemed the price of a shortened length of their crystal sleep was a world of trouble. Hope couldn't remember either Oerban talking in length and detail about their first crystallization. He threw a glance over at the pinkette who remained silent. He had the inkling of a feeling if any of the other l'Cie had come to know about it, it would have been Lightning—through Fang.

"How long was it this time?" Fang asked. Hope found himself actually surprised it hadn't come up earlier, or that neither he nor Lightning had brought up the length of time passed.

"Ten years." Hope answered. Vanille continued to be distracted by the surrounding area while Fang slowly nodded, processing the information.

"Well, that's better than a hundred or so." The smaller Oerban called from behind a large wall of crystal. Once again, impressing Hope with her skill of listening without appearing to be.

"Ten years..." Fang repeated under her breath.

"What about just before waking up." Lightning finally spoke, her voice steely, in full Sergeant Major mode, "Do you remember seeing or hearing anything? Something must have triggered you awake early."

"Maybe a prince charming gave us a little kiss." Fang's nip at the pinkette's side was answered with a rolled eye, "Though he coulda kept the Cie'th back at the castle-"

"Fang-" Hope began to warn her, though admittedly slightly amused.

"This was a waste of time." Lightning began walking toward the entrance.

"Funny, I thought we were trying to figure out what was going on." Fang's snark stopped the pinkette. Hope had half a mind to interrupt but was beginning to realize that whatever this tension was between Fang and Lightning, wouldn't go away until they'd both gotten it out of their systems.

"No, _we_-" The Sergeant Major motioned between Hope and herself, "-are trying to figure out what's going on, with the intention of saving the city from being destroyed by violent quakes or roaming Cie'th." She then motioned to the Oerban, "_You_ are messing around, being childish." She then threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Light-"

"It's nice to know some things haven't changed." Lightning interrupted Hope again, "Everything is still a joke to you."

"And you've still got a stick up your-"

Fang was cut off when a heavy pulse echoed through the chamber. Hope had felt it too, like a small yet surprisingly strong shock wave from the middle of the room—from the shaft. Looking over at it, he saw Vanille standing shocked, her hand on it.

"Oh..." She looked over at Hope, a sheepish look on her face as she yanked her hand away, "...was I ...not supposed to touch that?"

She was answered with another pulse, this time more powerful. She stumbled backwards. Fang moved to rush over but before she could get two feet, there was another pulse through the room. Hope felt a heavy sensation in the back of his head before his vision suddenly blacked out. Moments later the dark was replaced with flashing images accompanied by a voice that managed to be deafening yet difficult to really hear at the same time.

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_You are l'Cie. Creations of the fal'Cie."  
Memories of passages through broken land and shattered ruins._

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_You are human. Destroyers of the fal'Cie."  
__Flashes of flowing lava._

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_A necessary ending that leads to unnecessary destruction."  
__Memories of the crystallization of Cocoon._

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_The fal'Cie fade while the humans struggle to survive."  
__Images of an evolving Crystallinus._

_**HEARTBEAT**_

"_But the world will break beneath them."  
__Flashes of a huge beast covered in shadow and Gran Pulse shattering completely._

_**HEARTBEAT**_

When the voice finally faded and the images behind their eyes stopped. Hope, Lightning, Fang and Vanille were on their knees on the ground, recovering from the sensory overload.

"That... kid... DeFluo?" Fang gasped, looking directly at Lightning, "I... I saw her, she was here..."

"They both were." Vanille added softly.

"Wh-What...?" Lightning was still attempting to regain her bearings.

"It couldn't be... that voice..." Hope's thoughts were more focused on the voice they'd heard, "Was... Was that...?" He trailed off, the disbelief too much for him to complete the inquiry.

Meanwhile, 10 minutes away in the medical center, Eve had woken from her sleep. The Lance Corporal was up off her chair and clutching the oppose wall of the hall, clutching at her heart. She was struggling for breath, a single word escaping her gasps for air.

"Titan."

* * *

**A/N:**

Do you hate me?  
Yes, you hate me.  
But it's okay! Y'know why?  
BECAUSE I LOVE YOU ALL!

But in all seriousness, can we all just take a step back and remember that-at least in my little messed up universe-it's been 10 years and people have grown up. Light included.  
Yes, she'll always be Lightning from the game and I'd never want to totally disregard that but She's BOUND to have changed a little over a decade.  
And it was a decade without Fang! She's entitled to a little crazy, okay?

Okay, seriousness over.  
...and apparently so is this note =\


	24. Truthseeker's Rise

**Truthseeker's Rise**

* * *

Eve wasn't entirely sure what was going on. She was presently in a small briefing room with Sergeant Major Farron and the two non-Crystallinus natives. Lightning and Vanille were sitting across from her at the table. Fang was standing against the wall behind Vanille. All three of them seemed to be... studying her. It was unnerving.

They, along with First Lieutenant Estheim, had arrived not minutes after she'd been forced awake by the shock of a dream she'd had when she'd fallen asleep outside Alva's room. Lightning had demanded they needed to talk with both her and Alva concerning Baseline. She'd still been trying to regain her composure from the visions to really feel the fear of possibly being caught, but she'd recovered enough to agree to answer any of their questions. She was also granted her request that they at least wait until the next day to involve her sister.

After what seemed like an hour of sitting in silence, Hope entered the room, followed by General Amodar. Eve stood, out of habit, and saluted. She'd only seen the General and Councilman a few times while with CRYSIS, hadn't ever met him in person. While she'd never expected to—nor ever intend to—it didn't mean she didn't respect his rank and title. He salute quickly before moving to take a seat.

"Alright, let's get this started, shall we?"

Eve slowly sat again, catching Hope's eye. He had an interesting look in his eye. It was cautious yet understanding, full of suspicion yet... apologetic? Turning to the Sergeant Major, the look in her eye was even harder to read. Whatever it was, Eve found she couldn't hold the older officer's gaze for long.

"DeFluo, where were you two nights ago, just before dark." Hope asked the first question. Eve decided it was definitely about Baseline.

"With my sister. She met me after I left CRYSIS HQ." Eve wasn't a liar. She'd never had to, nor had she ever seen the point of doing so. But it didn't mean she didn't think things through. She wanted as much as possible to keep Alva out of any CRYSIS matters. If that meant answering vaguely, so be it.

"And you both went home?"

"We went for a walk-"

"Where?" Lightning asked this time, almost immediately. Eve swallowed, finding it harder to maintain her calm when questioned by the Sergeant Major. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"You went to the pillar," Vanille spoke up, "Didn't you, Eve?" The Lance Corporal looked over at the small stranger, "With Alva." Her mind quickly flashed back to before when Vanille had approached her with the explanation behind the situation Eve had found her and Alva in.

They'd met barely a minute after she'd left Alva at the orphanage gates. She was lost trying to find Fang and had asked Alva for help. Eve had actually wanted to laugh, it was just like her sister to help a total stranger obviously not from Crystallinus. They'd ended up chatting for the few minutes before the quakes hit the city. As she'd find out later, a rather huge Cie'th creature broke through the street they were on. Vanille had tried to help get Alva away but the Cie'th managed to throw her against the wall, knocking her out. The last thing she said she'd seen was Alva standing in front of her, clutching the weapon she'd been hiding. The first thing she saw when she'd opened her eyes was Alva on the ground, bleeding.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Eve sighed heavily. She had been out of control when she saw Alva hurt, but speaking with Vanille—though technically it was more like listening to Vanille in the med center... a lot—she found the anger for her had more or less faded. She'd even offered her Alva's spare set of clothes to replace her own. It only occurred to her as she was falling asleep that with the last half-dozen people she'd met, people she'd never met before, she felt more familiar to and drawn to them than anything else in her life—save for Alva.

"What happened there, DeFluo" Hope took over the questioning again, bringing Eve back to the briefing room.

"I... don't know."

"You don't know how a hundred-foot pillar of crystal shattered while you were wandering around near it?" Lightning spoke up, her voice low but hard in tone, "A restricted area?"

"It was an accident," Eve began after a second of hesitation, shaking her head, "I should never have followed..." The Lance Corporal let out a heavy sigh as she began to slowly relay the events that had happened that night with Alva at inside the Pillar. She found it strange; she'd been so adamant on keeping the secret—keeping as much as possible from even Alva who's memory of the night seemed to be blurry. Yet she felt no apprehension while she relayed the memory.

The was silence after she'd finished. Yes, the others had found out what really happened that night. And they'd found a likely candidate for the trigger for least Fang and Vanille's awakening. Amodar, the only one that hadn't experienced flashes or visions from Baseline, took over the meeting and allowed Eve to return to her sister—ignoring the small protest by Lightning. The Lance Corporal hesitated briefly but eventually stood, saluted and moved to exit the room.

"The voices I heard... the flashes I saw..." Eve paused at the door that slid open but didn't look back, "They were memories weren't they?" None of the other inhabitants of the room replied, "They were yours." Eve stated rather than asked as she left the room, the door sliding shut behind her.

"We weren't finished-" Lightning spoke first but Amodar cut her off.

"We don't have time to be playing guessing games, Farron." The General said, bringing a control panel out of the desk and starting up a few displays above the table, "We know as much as we can get without dancing around in circles with Lance Corporal DeFluo." He turned to Fang and Vanille, "For now we need to focus on what to do about the attacks on the city."

"But-"

"These flashes you had, was it another memory?" Amodar cut her off again.

"No, it was... more like a message." Hope explained, "A message about what's happening—what's going to happen."

"A message from who?" Hope didn't answer the question right away. He scanned the faces of the three women, none of them seemed intent on talking at the moment.

"Titan." Amodar raised an eyebrow at the First Lieutenant. He then shifted his gaze to the others who made no effort to either agree with or disagree with the answer. Lightning's jaw tightened. She'd recognized the voice as well but couldn't fully process how a entity that disappeared a decade ago could be communicating with them.

"Titan?" Amodar said incredulously, "As in the Gran Pulse fal'Cie?" He scoffed, "A fal'Cie that disappeared just like the rest of them 10 years ago-"

"Just like the Cie'th," Fang interrupted, speaking for the first time since entering the room, "Oh wait, they're back now!"

"Fang, not now." Lightning warned.

"Then when, Light?" The Oerban responded, her voice low and almost menacing, "I'm not crystal anymore, when can we actually talk about anything? Before or after the world ends-?"

"Alright, that's enough!" Amodar slammed a hand on the table just as Lightning had risen from her seat and turned to Fang who'd pushed off the wall, "We don't have time for this, the lives of everyone in this city and the future they built is crumbling, we need to find out why and stop it."

"Titan's throne..." Hope's thinking out loud managed to quell the arguing even while said under his breath. Bringing out another control panel, the First Lieutenant brought up a few images of the areas around Crystallinus, "If I remember correctly it was..." He trailed off, the images on the display moving from area to area, faster and faster.

"The Faultwarrens." Lightning said, moving to stand near the the officer, "There." She stopped him, pointing at the display. The others moved closer to the table, examining the image on the screen.

"What... is that?" Vanille asked. The image wasn't in true color, Hope had scanned for specific hot-zones; land effected by tremors, quakes or anything out of the ordinary. Any hot-zone was colored yellow or red depending on the danger level. The image of the Faultwarrens was neither color. The scan was blurry, flickering in and out and pulsing purple.

"That... can't be right." Amodar punched in few controls on the panel near him. The display remained unchanged, "Something must be wrong with the scan." Lightning used the panel in front of Hope to switch the display to a regular feed. What was shown threw the room into silence again.

"There's nothing wrong with the scan."

The area filled with gauntlets of walls and cliffs was barely visible under a low, dark cloud laced with a shimmer—flickering occasionally, the land beneath appeared to change occasionally with each flicker.

"What is that?" Amodar asked as he attempted to clear the image but to no avail.

"I don't know," Lightning stepped back from the table, "But we're going to find out." She caught a look from Hope before she moved toward the door.

"No." Amodar's objection stopped her in her tracks. She spun around, her face demanding an explanation, "It's too dangerous, and we don't know enough." He stood from his seat, the console in front of him disappearing back under the table, "The council needs to know about this. Once we get things under control in the city-"

"We need to move now, Amodar!" Lightning pointed to the display still flickering above the table, "The Faultwarrens is our best lead for answers-"

"It's also probably the most dangerous place to be right now," Amodar interrupted, "Until we can afford both the time for forming a strategy and the manpower for an adequate force, the council will never approve of anyone pursuing this."

"The Council doesn't need to have anything to do with this," Lightning declared forcefully, "Amodar, you need to trust me."

"Farron, all I'm asking for is a couple of days."

"And all _I'm_ asking for," Lightning continued to insist, "is a shuttle."

"Farron, I trust you, you know I do," Amodar sighed heavily, "But the council was formed for a reason—_we_ formed the council for a reason—so Crystallinus could grow under the control of the people—for the people." Lightning clenched a fist. Amodar spoke the truth, "You only have so much influence in the Council, Farron. Even if the both of us requested the approval of this mission it probably wouldn't be enough."

Lightning's shoulders slumped, her gaze fell to the ground. She was frustrated but she understood where Amodar was coming from. They'd worked hard to build the city from ruins and had spend a good amount of time forming a body of leadership that they'd made sure couldn't lead to another situation like the ones between Cocoon, Gran Pulse and the fal'Cie. Having Amodar force the council would do more harm than good in the long run. Though the Sergeant Major found it difficult to think much about the 'long run', she had enough sense to contemplate the consequences.

"Actually," Hope's voice captured both General and Sergeant Major's attention, "There may be a way." The First Lieutenant received confused expressions from his fellow CRYSIS officers, "Sergeant Major Farron gets her approval and shuttle to investigate the Faultwarrens, and there's less of a chance Amodar's standing as Councilman would be affected negatively." Both Lightning and Amodar slowly showed signs of realization. Amodar reacted first.

"You can't be thinking of-" The General looked between the Hope and the pinkette, "No." He shook his head, "No! That's crazy."

"Maybe, but it's the only way." Lightning stated, her eye locked onto the General's, "I request the Rank Ascension." Amodar stood from his seat, disbelief flooding his features. He opened his mouth but no words came out. The silence remained for almost a minute before the Sergeant Major spoke again, "If you can't do it, I'll go directly to the council." With that, the pinkette turned and exited the room. Amodar remained for a few moments before following quickly. But not before glaring hard at the First Lieutenant who decided to remain behind.

"Okay, ya mind telling us what the hell is going on?" Fang spoke as soon as the doors slid closed behind Amodar. Hope turned to the Oerban warrior, "I must've misplaced my military dictionary."

"What's this... Rank... thing?" Vanille began but seemed too confused to finish the question.

"The Rank Ascension." Hope repeated, shutting down the displays above the table, "It's a... procedure that really only applies to Lightning." He began to explain, "While CRYSIS and the Crystal Council were being formed, Lightning—along with the rest of us, you two included—were honored as heroes. But being in Guardian Corps., Lightning was also offered a seat on the Council, along with the highest CRYSIS rank at the time." Hope leaned against one of the chairs as he continued, "She didn't accept, kept her rank as Sergeant, but the council kept the offer open in the form of a... promise, you could say. Were she to change her mind, she'd always have the place on the Council, along with the higher military rank."

"Why didn't she take the offer then?" Fang asked.

"Being a member of the Council would've meant being a citizen of Crystallinus." Hope replied, running a hand through his hair, "She wanted the freedom to be able to live with family back in Oerba Neo."

"Oerba? It's still..." Vanille perked up, her eyes practically sparkling. Hope nodded, a smile crossing his lips.

"So, Sunshine's gonna use this... Rank Ascension thing to basically... get what she wants?" Fang brought the topic back to the pinkette, "Sounds kinda..."

"It was really more for show than anything." Hope shrugged, "Lightning had been so adamant on staying out of Council affairs, no one ever thought she'd actually request it." He sighed again, looking toward the door.

"So she'd be a Councilor, and a General..?" Fang was still attempting to fully understand the conditions.

"Giving her the authority to investigate the Faultwarrens." Hope nodded,, "Though... at the time, CRYSIS was still being formed. Military ranks have been changed since then." Hope paused, thinking for a moment, "If I remember correctly, the title she'd receive would have to be... Commander."

* * *

**A/N:**

Sleepy... so sleepy...  
I wrote a song today, for my father's birthday. Just thought I'd share.  
I forgot how hard songwriting was =\


	25. Ask and Tell

**Ask and Tell**

* * *

Stifling a yawn, Lightning continued to check the cargo crates that were being loaded into the shuttle. It was just about 6:40 in the morning. She'd barely slept at all the night before. The meeting with the Council had been taxing enough—even if she had achieved what she wanted. The rest of the night she'd spent preparing for the journey to the Faultwarrens via Oerba Neo. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in a metal panel of the shuttle. With her new rank came a new uniform. It wasn't much different from her old one, the plates on her shoulders were different—unique to her—each one laced in gold, sporting deep red crystals. In addition to the shoulder plate, her left shoulder had a brace upon which hung a crimson sash, falling just above her knees.

Her attention leaving her reflection, she saw Hope leading a rather tired-looking pair of Oerbans toward her. The First Lieutenant reached her first, saluting with the respect a soldier reserves for an officer much higher rank than them. Fang and Vanille joined them as the pinkette returned the gesture. The taller Oerban let out an impressive yawn while Vanille merely looked as if she were sleep walking.

"It looks good on you." Hope spoke first, motioning to the new military attire Lightning had on. She glanced down briefly before shrugging.

"It's the influence I needed, not the new set of clothes."

"_That's_ what was wrong!" Vanille's voice pierced the air, taking everyone off guard. Lightning noticed the small Oerban was no long at Fang's side but rather behind her, playing with her sash, "Your cape was missing! I had thought something was off... you didn't have your cape before!" Jaw tightening, the pinkette sidestepped away, pulling her sash out of Vanille's grasp.

"It's not a cape." Lightning cleared her throat, returning her focus to the manifest in her hands, "Besides, I'd better off without it, it'd just get in my way."

"Didn't seem to bother you much ten years ago." Fang teased, earning an icy look from the pinkette.

"I outgrew it."

"So take it off." Lightning didn't think she could glare any harder than she was at Fang, "Admit it, Sunshine, you love the little red cape fluttering behind you as you jumped and flipped, kickin' ass and takin' names-!" Taking a slow, deep breath, Lightning refused to play Fang's games that morning.

"I'm going to drop off the flight-logs and schedule." The pinkette turned and head toward the nearby hanger, leaving Hope with a pouting Vanille and a unsatisfied Fang.

As she powered down the datapad in her hands, Lighting sighed and shook her head. How on Earth had she been able to put up with Fang's antics ten years ago? She forced herself not to think about it, deciding it wasn't the time for any walks down memory lane.

"Officer Farron!" A voice called from her left. Turning to see DeFluo walking over, an arm around her sister, helping her along. So much for staying away from memory lane.

"Lance Corporal." Lightning greeted the younger officer. Her gaze dropped to DeFluo's younger sister. The smaller girl had dropped to practically hide behind DeFluo. Though she hid behind her older sister, the girl had an almost-scowl on her face. The pinkette raised an eyebrow. DeFluo looked just as confused.

"Alva?" The smaller girl remained behind the Lance Corporal, "Sorry, ma'am, she's... not usually like this—Alva, don't be rude."

"It's alright, DeFluo." Lightning said, raising a hand, "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you. About training, I'll be flying out of the city for a few days, Another training officer will be assigned to the class while I'm away." The pinkette motioned to the young officer, "I'll have you report to them until I return." A confused look crossed DeFluo's face to which Lightning raised an eyebrow, "Will... that be a problem, DeFluo?"

"N-No ma'am just... I thought you'd have been informed by now," The Lance Corporal explained, revealing the large duffel she'd been carrying on her back that Lightning had failed to noticed, "My sister and I will be joining you." Lightning blinked a few times.

"Alva!" Vanille's voice once again pierced the silence and the awkward moment. The small Oerban practically pounced on the younger DeFluo.

"Morning Vanille." Alva managed to get out, giggling a little. Lightning wasn't sure what to think of the drastically different attitude the youngest of them had towards Vanille as she had towards her, "Ah, that coulda been... bad."

"Sorry, sorry!" Vanille apologized, looking down as Alva pulled up the loose shirt she had on to reveal a large bandage around her torso.

"It's okay, it's just that the stitches have already been replaced twice today."

"That's because you kept jumping around." The Lance Corporal rolled her eyes. She smiled at Alva's pout but quickly remembered the prior conversation with Lightning. Clearing her throat, she addressed the Oerban, "Vanille could you maybe watch Alva for a while?"

"You bet!" Came the excited response, followed by a small yelp as the orange-haired girl pulled Alva away. Lightning didn't miss DeFluo's concerned wince as the two ones moved away.

"My apologies, ma'am," The Lance Corporal's voice grew even more serious as she apologized and began to explain, "My sister recovered from the blood loss. Her wound is already almost healed." DeFluo's eyes dropped from the pinkette's, "But there were... unusual readings with her blood. She's poisoned—the creature who wounded her is most likely the source." Lightning looked over at Alva. Her expression was bright and she showed little signs of pain but her movements were slow, sluggish and stiff, "The medics at CRYSIS couldn't figure out what it was and they said it'd take at least a few days to analyze the virus before even thinking about a possible cure."

"What are the symptoms?" Lightning asked, still observing Alva.

"So far just a weakened body. She gets bouts of dizziness every so often and her appetite has all but disappeared." As she turned back towards the Lance Corporal, Lightning recognized the concerned older sister look well, "I was told there's was a chance a salve could be made to counteract the virus using certain... components that are native to the region south-east of here-"

"Oerba Neo." Lightning sighed, crossing her arms over her chest, "And who exactly gave you this information?" Before she answered, the Lance Corporal glanced over at Vanille. The pinkette sighed again, "You're risking taking your sister out of the city where she can at least be kept stable, because of something you heard from a complete stranger?" Lightning wasn't meaning to be harsh; she just found it odd that DeFluo would trust the fate of her sister—whom she obviously cared a lot about—to Vanille. She shook her head, stopping the strange attempts and at explanation before they began, "Even so, you'd need approval before you-"

"She has approval." A voice responded for DeFluo. The two women were met by Amodar who stopped to stand next to the Lance Corporal, "I gave it to her." Lightning once again found herself not quite able to form words, "I'm not about to let a child suffer if there's a chance she could be cured." Lightning frowned. While she didn't disagree with the General, she certainly wasn't convince that was his full intention.

"Sir-?"

"And it's another head for your investigation," Amodar continued, "Better suited too, considering her... insight to the matter." The pinkette continued to look between the General and Lance Corporal, "Also, since you were so adamant on her testing the A-L prototype..." He lifted a case he'd been carrying, "Consider it a field test."

"I don't plan on running into trouble." Lightning frowned again.

"You never do, it runs into you, Farron." Amodar chuckled in response, "Or should I address you as 'Commander' now?" The pinkette rolled her eye. DeFluo's expression of surprise didn't escape her notice, "Will... this be a problem, Commander?"

"The rank isn't just for show, Amodar," Lightning challenged, "It comes with greater influence and power." The General just let out another light laugh before he more or less forced the case into her hand.

"And you know what they say about great power." He turned briefly to DeFluo, who's eyes were still glued on the pinkette, "Lance Corporal."

"General." DeFluo snapped out of it just in time to salute Amodar as he turned and walked away. The two younger officers watched him for a few moments. DeFluo turned back toward Lightning first. Lightning caught her eyes, resisting the urge to roll hers again. Damn you, Amodar

"I... look forward to working with you..." the Lance Corporal saluted again as Lightning began to lug the case back towards the shuttle, "...Commander Farron." DeFluo added at the last moment. Stopping for only a moment, Lightning's jaw tightened as she grumbled under her breath before leading the younger woman to the shuttle.

Watching the scene unfold while waiting for the shuttle to depart, were Hope and Fang. While the Oerban warrior's pacing looked like impatience, it was really more like irritation. She didn't need to have heard what the two female officers had been talking about to know the younger of the two would be joining them. The arrival of the General only confirmed her suspicions. She knew that was the situation and she knew it bothered her. What she didn't know, was exactly why.

"So, I gotta ask," Fang finally spoke, aiming to take her mind of the irksome itch in the back of her mind, "What's with the eye patch?" She motioned with her head, over her shoulder toward the group of military personnel. Hope glanced at them before giving Fang a small smile.

"Don't you think that's something you should be asking her?"

"You think she'd tell me?" Fang retorted.

"Well I don't know," Hope shrugged, "From what I remember, you were always very persuasive, if not persistent."

"I'd rather keep my limbs attached, thank you very much." The second verbal counter earned her a laugh from the soldier.

"Well I don't know much more than what was in the reports and debriefings." He explained, though noticing the look on Fang's face, he realized even that was probably enough. He sighed and leaned against the shuttle, "After what happened on Cocoon—what happened to you and Vanille—Light took it a little harder than the rest of us. It manifested itself in recklessness." Hope began to tell, "She would leave on missions solo; disappear for days at a time. She completely closed herself off and shut everyone out."

"Sounds a little familiar if you ask me." Fang raised an eyebrow as she recalled the pinkette's behavior from before her crystal sleep.

"No." Hope disagreed seriously, shaking his head, "No, this was different from before." Something in his voice told Fang what he said was the truth.

"Anyway, not long after it was founded, CRYSIS got a report about an attack on Taejin Tower—one of the larger outposts CRYSIS had built; mainly to protect Oerba Neo without establishing too great a presence in the village." Hope added the extra explanation in response to Fang's raised eyebrow, "The outpost had been attacked by an unknown creature—enough to have damaged its comm. systems. Light was off-duty at the time, taking her leave in Oerba Neo but somehow she managed to get her hands on the report."

"And let me guess, she went out there alone." Fang stated more than ask. And Hope didn't really need to answer her.

"By the time she got there, there was no one left." He continued, "No one but a small child; a girl, nine—maybe ten years old—supposedly trying to escape through The Palisades towards Sulyya Springs." Fang remained silent through her confused curiosity, "By the time Light found her she'd already fallen into shock. She couldn't shed any light on what exactly happened."

"And the creature?" Fang had to ask.

"It showed up as Light was taking the girl out of there." Hope cast his eyes downward, "She took it on. By herself. It took her eye." There was a long moment of silence between the two.

"She killed it though?"

"Not as far as we know." Hope answered vaguely, shaking his head, "Either way it almost took more than just her eye. Lightning spent a little under a month in a coma. And by the time she woke up, she barely remembered anything from the encounter." Fang attempted to imagine a creature that could've wounded the pinkette so severely, "She did remember the girl, but by then she'd been taken in by one of the orphanages in the city."

"Where is she now?"

"General Amodar was the one that made all the arrangements for the child, but he never kept up any records."

"But... he thinks it's her." Fang theorized, motioning towards the group of soldiers, still discussing amongst themselves.

"He's does." Hope answered, recalling the brief conversation he'd had with the General the night before regarding the Lance Corporal, "She's the right age, was raised in the same orphanage, and nothing's known about her before she'd arrived."

"What about her sister? She wasn't at the tower." Fang investigated further, her gaze now shifted to her Oerban companion and the younger girl in question.

"No, but orphans often form strong sibling-like bonds, particularly if they're brought to an orphanage around the same time—which they were, according to Alva's records." Hope sighed, pushing off the side of the shuttle, noticing Lightning and DeFluo had finished their conversation with Amodar and were heading back in their direction, "It's all speculation though. Like I said, the source of all this information is basically... badly-written paperwork."

"Anyone asked her about it?" Fang turned to the First Lieutenant, referring to DeFluo. Hope blinked a couple of times before turning to stare at Fang. The look of stunned realization on his face and his lack of response caused the Oerban to laugh and shake her head, "Yeah..." She pat his back as she moved to call Vanille over.

Hope groaned as he felt a strange case of dejavu washing over him.

* * *

**A/N:**

Oooooh, Hope got facepwnd again X3  
Light kinda got facepwnd by Amodar-but really, she's too cool to be truly facepwnd. Yet she's so easily teased =\

You gotta admit,_ 'Sergeant Major Farron'_ doesn't have quite as much ring to it as _'Commander Farron'_ does. Yes? Yes?

Fun fact: I spent exactly 12 minutes and 42 seconds looking for the name of the area just before Taejin's Tower.

Anyhow, at least there's... kinda an answer to at least one question... sorta... maybe... I dunno...

Yay for Spiderman references! ...or something.


	26. Roles and Regulation

**Roles and Regulation**

* * *

Vanille began to bounce up and down in her seat excitedly as the shuttle touched down on the Oerba Neo landing pad while Lightning had already begun to shut off certain systems. The village was still obscured by a line of foliage but Eve had gotten a glimpse of the village for the first time. She'd never really thought about it much but it was just as Alva had over-excitedly imagined it. The Lance Corporal looked over at her sister to see she was still asleep.

The flight had been relatively quiet save for the chatter between Alva and Vanille during the first half of the journey. Alva had eventually fallen asleep and the shuttle fell into complete silence.

"Sazh and Snow should be meeting us with the truck," Hope broke the silence as he landed the shuttle smoothly, "We can probably leave most of the equipment in the shuttle. We have any plans for... well... lodging arrangements for the duration of the investigation?" Lightning—who had been reviewing information on one of the side consoles—shrugged indistinctly.

"For now we can probably use my place as a base of operations." The pinkette rose from her seat next to Hope, "We still don't know how long this investigation will take." She added, moving towards the door. As she reached it, Eve stood, having taken the seat nearest it. Lightning looked between the younger officer and her sister, "There isn't really a medical center in the village so for now your sister can rest in the spare bedroom."

"Thank you, Commander." Eve bowed her head slightly as the shuttle doors slid open. Before the Commander in question could exit the craft however, the small orange-haired Oerban bounded out before her; not really forming proper words so much as making small excited squealing noises. A sigh escaping her lips, Lightning followed, stepping out into the sunlight. Fang exited next, sharing a strained look with the Lance Corporal before exiting.

"The shuttle will be here soon," Hope pat Eve's shoulder, "You can probably just let your sister sleep there until it gets here." The First Lieutenant motioned towards Alva who'd curled up against the side of the craft, "Actually, it's possible we could move her without waking her." Eve nodded and saluted him as he too, stepped outside. Turning back to Alva, she stepped towards the sleeping girl and knelt down in front of the seat, brushing aside a strand of hair that'd fallen across her face.

"Everything's so... so colorful! So... alive!" Vanille practically yelled, taking in the surroundings.

"Hmm." Fang slowly surveyed the surroundings as well, hands on her hips, "No barren wasteland, no sea of crystal dust-" Fang began but couldn't finish as she was cut off by another excited shriek.

"Is that the lake?" The smaller Oerban pointed beyond the landing pad and shuttled towards the glittering body of water that expanded out into the horizon. Hope nodded his head, laughing at the look of overwhelming joy on Vanille's face. The orange-haired girl practically tackled Fang, "Fang it's the lake! Oerba's just like it was before!"

"Well, we still have to get to the village-" Fang began but was again interrupted, this time by the loud sound of a revving engine. The four standing by the shuttle all looked down the road and saw a giant truck speeding toward them. Dark, tinted windows, sporting a camouflage paint job in at least half a dozen shades of green; the truck rolled along on 6 almost excessively large wheels. The main body was large enough to fit 6 people comfortably; An equally spacious bed behind it. A mounted set of light bars arched over it.

Lightning walked over as it all but skid to a stop at the edge of the landing pad—barely a foot away from her. Taking a step back as the truck's growling came to a halt and the front doors on either side of the vehicle opened up, revealing the driver and single passenger.

"Well, I'll be damned." A loud voice called as the owner of it shut the broad door, "I'd heard you were bringing guests but..."

"Snow!" Vanille bounced over to the large man, throwing herself into a hug. The blonde laughed and happily returned the gesture. They pulled away as the opposite door clicked shut, revealing a rather stunned Sazh, "Sazh." Vanille somehow managed to grin wider as she ran around the front of the truck and stopped in front of the ex-pilot—more out of being similarly overwhelmed than out of fear of the situation becoming uncomfortable. The mutual moment only lasted a few seconds however, before Sazh pulled the smaller girl into a tight hug.

"Fang!" Snow walked toward the other Oerban who took a step back as he approached, "Oh c'mon now." He caught her in an awkward side hug if only for a moment before she managed to ease her way out of it.

"Nice to see you too, Snow." The Oerban warrior admit. Hope and Lightning, who'd been watching the scene unfold, were significantly amused. The latter's amusement soon disappeared when she saw the blonde turn toward her with the full intention to give her the same welcoming treatment.

"We should start loading the gear we'll be keeping in the village, onto the truck." The Commander suggested, already moving back towards the shuttle. She met Eve as she stepped out; she had an odd expression on her face. Lightning gave her a questioning look to which the Lance Corporal responded by motioning over her shoulder with her thumb toward the cargo door.

"We may have brought more with us than intended." Eve explained. Lightning looked between the younger officer, the cargo door and Hope who had walked back over to join them. Receiving a shrug from Hope, the pinkette moved to open the door. As it slid open, it revealed the stack of crates along with the few duffel bags that had been loaded back in Crystallinus. Confused at first, Lightning eventually realized there seemed to be a little too much cargo in the hold. Grabbing two of the duffel bags, she pulled them out swiftly to reveal a crouched figure trying to remain hidden, out of the light from the doorway.

"Whoever you are, come out of there." Hope voiced the order on Lightning's mind. There was a shuffling followed by another duffel rolling out of the hold as the stow-away stepped out. Lightning's shoulder's slumped as Hope sighed, rubbing a temple while Eve merely raised an eyebrow.

"Dajh."

"Well then," The cadet began, grinning sheepishly, "That's the last time I'm ever flying cargo-"

"And what just exactly are you doing flying anywhere?" Lightning questioned firmly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Well technically it's wasn't so much flying as it was stowing away-"

"Dajh." Hope interrupted, signaling that now really wasn't the time for jokes.

"I heard you were taking a shuttle out of the city." Dajh began to explain himself, "The only shuttle heading to Oerba Neo-"

"And what? You decided to hitch a ride? This isn't a field trip!" Lightning frowned at the young recruit.

"You think I don't know that?" Dajh spoke up defiantly, "It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on in the city. And once word got out that it wasn't just Crystallinus that was affected..." The cadet trailed off for a moment, "Oerba Neo is my home too, remember?" The two older officers seemed to back off a little but Lightning remained true to her rank.

"That does not give you license to sneak aboard a vessel without approval of leave from your superior officer."

"Well... technically you _could_ give it to me now..." The boy's wit began to rear its head again.

"Dajh!" Both Hope and Lightning interrupted, exasperatedly. Eve, who'd remained silent throughout the exchange, was oddly amused albeit just as suspicious as to what exactly the recruit was thinking.

"Dajh?" A third voice echoed, grabbing all four of their attention. It took Eve barely a second to notice the family resemblance.

"Dad." The two Katzroy's remained still, staring at one another.

"Dajh!" Yet again the recruit's name was echoed, this time by Snow who was walking over along with the two Oerbans, "And..." He trailed off, noticing Eve. He pointed at her but looked over at Fang, "Is she-"

"No." Both Fang and Eve replied at the same time, sharing another pained—yet understanding—look.

"Oh."

"Let's get moving." Hope decided to keep the investigation on track, "We'll get the equipment to the house and work out the game plan from there." He motioned towards Snow and Sazh, "You strapping young men wanna help me with the crates?"

"Careful Hope," Snow said through a laugh, already moving toward the crates in question, "You're starting to sound old." He nudged the ex-pilot, before moving towards the shuttle, past Dajh—giving him a quick pat on the shoulder. Sazh stepped towards Dajh, who took an equally uneasy step back. The cadet's jaw tightened when he saw the flash of hurt cross his father's face. Swallowing, he turned his eyes towards Eve, catching hers. He found himself giving her a pleading look. A look begging her to speak, interrupt, anything to break the awkward atmosphere.

"I'm going to get my sister." The Lance Corporal finally did say, turning to Lightning briefly and motioning into shuttle. She met Dajh's gaze for another second before stepping back inside. Dajh inwardly groaned. Great, thank you, DeFluo.

Sighing heavily, he turned back to his father and superior officer. He straightened up, preparing himself for the reprimanding from the Commander. At the moment he figured it'd be better than dealing with his father just then. But it didn't come. Lightning merely pat the older Katzroy on the back before moving toward the shuttle, re-activating the datapad in her hands.

"Wh-What? No grilling? No third degree? No good, old-fashioned military chewing-out?" Lightning stopped and looked back over her shoulder at the cadet.

"I'm didn't come here as a training officer—I'm not going to scold you like a child, Dajh." She threw a glance at Sazh whose puzzled expression remained on his son, "That's not my job." With that she turned and stepped back into the shuttle, leaving Dajh more or less alone with his father. Great, thank you, Lightning.

"So... this isn't extremely awkward..." The cadet rubbed the bad of his neck, avoiding eye contact. It wasn't as if he hadn't expected something like this to happen. He just wasn't expecting it to happen sooner rather than later. Definitely not quite so soon after spending nearly an hour squashed between duffel bags and equipment crates.

Turned out it would happen later rather than sooner as Sazh moved past him to help the others, pausing only long enough to say, "As soon as everyone settles in, we'll have a talk." Dajh merely nodded both thankful of his father's decision and dreading the thought of it.

The trip to Lightning's home through the village didn't take long and truck was large enough to where they only had to make the one trip. While Dajh, Hope, Snow and Sazh helped unload the equipment and baggage, Lightning led Eve inside, Alva still asleep in her arms. Fang was attempting to keep Vanille from running off to explore.

"How is she?" Lightning asked as she opened the front door.

"I think she's burning up." Eve replied, distressed. Vanille's urge to run off and rediscover her old home was suppressed by her own concern. The small Oerban palmed Alva's forehead. Eve remained still, watching Vanille intently, gauging her reaction.

"She's running a fever, we should get her inside," Came the diagnosis, "I still have a few things that could slow it down." Vanille pat the pouch hanging off her belt, giving Eve a confident smile. The Lance Corporal hesitated for a short moment before following Lightning into the house.

Despite being rarely lived-in, the house was surprisingly clean. Like many of the other homes in Oerba Neo, it had once been a original Oerban building that'd been salvaged and reconstructed. The floor was a clever mix of wood and metal. It proved to look rather interesting, without looking like a total Frankenstein job. What little walls there were, were similarly designed. The general layout of the house was very open with almost an entire wall of windows overlooking the lake.

"Some place Sunshine's got here." Fang muttered, admiring the view.

"One of the best views in Oerba Neo." Hope came to stand next to her, still as equally impressed despite having seen the view before, "It's a shame Light never spends enough time here see it very much." Fang smirked. It figured Lightning would have such a remarkable home, surrounded with such beauty and not fully appreciate it.

"Alright we've still got over half the day so I suggest we take the shuttle and scout the edge of the storm." The Commander returned to the living room where most of the guests had gathered, having brought in the last of the bags and crates, "We'll take some preliminary readings while we set up here."

"Already?" Snow spoke up, "You don't wanna settle in a little, get something to eat?"

"This storm could be the cause of what's tearing Crystallinus apart." Lightning responded seriously, "Oerba Neo may be safe for now but I don't doubt that it's only a matter of time before the destruction spreads here." Snow opened his mouth to argue but changed his mind. Even he understood the pinkette had point.

"So what's the plan?" Hope asked.

"You and I will take the shuttle to the edge of the storm, use the scanners to get as much data as we can." Lightning laid out the plan she'd formulated on the way to the village, "Eve will stay here and set up the equipment to help sift through whatever readings the shuttle can pick up."

"I can help with that if you like." Sazh spoke up. Lightning gave him a grateful nod. At that moment, Vanille walked back out into the living room from the bedroom where Eve had taken Alva.

"How is she?" The pinkette asked. Vanille sighed as Eve also stepped into the room, the distress on her face worse than before.

"I've made something to help with the fever but from what I can tell, she's suffering from more symptoms than just that." The Oerban elaborated, "I'll need to find more components before I can start trying to counteract them." She turned to Eve, "Most of them I should be able to find in the nearby area." She assured.

"I'll help." Dajh spoke up, unable to ignore the fact he hadn't been assigned a role. He received pointed stares from both Lightning and Sazh but didn't get any argument from either.

"Alright, Dajh you're with Vanille; Sazh with Eve; Hope you're with me." Lightning recounted as she moved towards the door, Hope following soon after. Vanille gave Eve a encouraging smile before also heading for the door. Dajh was stopped by Sazh as he moved to follow.

"Take care of her." The look of concern in his eyes that only a father could pull off regarding their child, did not escape the younger Katzroy's attention, "Take care of yourself."

"I will." Dajh promised before leaving to catch up with Vanille. While he was disappointed that the turn of prevents once again put a meeting with his son on hold, Sazh also felt a fatherly pride towards Dajh's attitude towards the situation. The loud shifting of the equipment crates caught the ex-pilot's attention. He looked to see the officer Lightning had referred to as Eve beginning to unpack some of the contents of the containers. Eve noticed his eyes on her. Standing, she introduced herself.

"Lance Corporal Eve DeFluo."

"Sazh Katzroy." He held out a hand which she took—not without brief hesitation, "Light told me to help you with whatever you need." Eve merely nodded in response before returning to unpacking the crate she'd started on.

"Hang on a second," Snow's voice caught both Eve and Sazh's attention, "Why don't I get an assignment?" Sazh raised an eyebrow at the blonde, "Or Fang for that matter-" Snow turned to where Fang should have been but wasn't. He blinked a couple of times before turning to Sazh who merely shrugged. The Lance Corporal had already returned to her task at hand, "Where'd she go?"

Ten minutes away, Hope and Lightning were boarding the shuttle again. As the First Lieutenant began powering up the systems, Lightning noticed Fang walking over as she was closing the side door.

"Fang, what are you doing here?" Lightning asked, genuinely surprised, "I thought you'd have gone with Vanille." Neither woman missed the strange, almost spiteful tone in the pinkette's voice but neither brought it up.

"Vanille can handle picking a couple flowers." Fang continued to make her way toward the shuttle, stopping just in front of the pinkette, "I want answers."

"Fang-"

"It may have been a couple hundred of years and things may be different here but Oerba will always be my home." There was nothing but seriousness in the warrior's eyes, "And I protect what's mine." Fang refused to argue with the other woman. Perhaps it was the hard resolve in the Oerban's voice; perhaps it was just that Lightning was too tired to argue herself; but eventually the Commander stepped aside, allowing Fang to board the shuttle as it began to lift off the ground.

* * *

**A/N:**

So... longest chapter so far... also the most pointless =\

I've been sick. And tired.  
I apologize for the nonsense chapter but it's only to hold you over until I have the proper brainpower to finish the bizarre-ness that will be Chapter 27.  
Which will hopefully be up tomorrow... hopefully...

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy writing Dajh?  
Because I do.


	27. Cloudy with a Chance of Confusion

**Cloudy with a Chance of Confusion **

* * *

"So do you remember me at all?" Vanille asked Dajh as the both of them walked down one of the many small, almost-hidden paths through the forest surrounding the Oerba Neo. They'd only been walking for a few minutes yet it already seemed as if they were lost, far from the village.

"A little," Dajh answered, following Vanille, observing her with interest, "My dad would talk about you a lot. I know you helped him a great deal back before..." He trailed off, not sure whether she felt like talking about the oncoming topic—whether _he_ felt like talking about it.

"I see." Was all Vanille eventually said before they fell back into silence. It wasn't necessarily an uncomfortable silence. But Dajh could practically hear the words that remained unsaid. It may only have been a little, but what he remembered of Vanille, he remembered clearly. Just as curious as he was now, at nine years old Dajh often let his curiosity get the better of him—a habit he'd slowly trained himself to forget.

He remembered the power plant at Euride Gorge, the excitement of seeing a real fal'Cie—a god—with his own eyes. Young and impulsive he'd wandered from his father's side to seek out Kujata himself. The irony of it was, he never did find it. Branded by the supernatural being yes, but see it? No. What he did see were two strangers in funny outfits. With the expected attention span of a nine-year-old, Dajh was now focused on the two women overlooking the gorge. Moments later—for reasons other than his young age—Dajh's focus was once again changed, that time not by choice.

"Va-"

"Now remember, we're looking for a flower with red petals a blue stalk." Vanille instructed, cutting him off before he could begin, "If it's the other way around well... let's just say a high fever and endless dizziness will be the least of Alva's problems."

"And how do you know this flower will work?"

"I don't." Came the blunt, almost immediate response, "Not for sure anyway, but all I can do right now is try all I can to help Alva." Dajh pushed aside a few small branches to survey the area around a fallen log for the flowers the young woman was looking for, "Long before we'd ever gone to Cocoon, I was always with Fang," Vanille began to reminisce aloud, "She was always the strong one, always the getting into fights or other kinds of trouble, always scratching herself up." Dajh found it easy to understand. One glance at the two Oerbans and anyone could have probably figured that much, "I'd always be ready to patch her up. I was never the fighter, so I learned to support Fang in a different way."

Dajh, unable to locate the needed flower, turned from the log and found Vanille holding a few up in her hand. Her other hand motioned to a hole in the side of a particularly large tree trunk. Peering into it, Dajh noticed an entire blooming patch of red-petaled, blue-stemmed flowers.

"And who doesn't like flowers?" Vanille grinned, placing the ones she'd picked into her pouch. Dajh felt a smile cross his lips. He always thought his father's description of the peculiar Gran Pulsian had been odd and inconsistent but observing Vanille in person, it was certainly starting to make sense.

"Well, unless they're twice your size and trying to kill you." As Vanille laughed, Dajh also made note of how true his father's words were when he's said her smile was infectious. Almost irritatingly so—but not quite.

"You're Sazh's son, alright." The smile on Dajh's face faded almost instantly at the comparison. It didn't escape Vanille's notice, "You've even got that weird shifting-his-weight thing he does when he's uncomfortable." She giggled as the boy immediately attempted to force his body to remain still. Eventually he gave up and brushed past her, clearing his throat.

"So what's next on the list?" He motioned toward the surrounding foliage, "Magic mushrooms?"

"He also tended to change subjects when he was nervous." Vanille commented, still smiling.

"Lots of people do that, it's been scientifically proven." Dajh pointed out, wagging a finger, "Unfortunately that's not something unique to the Katzroy family."

"And the excessive deflecting using witty remarks?" Vanille raised an eyebrow in response. Dajh opened his mouth to retort but caught himself, realizing the little saboteur had almost caught him in her clever verbal trap. Once again he found himself recalling more of what his father had mentioned about Vanille—in this instance, her deviously deceptive innocence.

"My dad's a great man." Dajh placed a hand on a nearby tree, picking at the bark slightly, "I'm nothing like him."

"Of course you aren't." Vanille's voice felt like a stab in the middle of his back, "You're you. Sazh is Sazh. Just because you aren't your father, doesn't mean you aren't a great man... boy... person." Dajh's jaw tightened as he returned his gaze to the young woman.

"You don't understand."

"So help me understand." Vanille could read the trouble in Dajh's eyes. She couldn't let it go. This was Sazh's son. And Sazh was like family to her—which meant Dajh was too.

"It's not that easy to explain-"

"Try." Vanille encouraged.

"Why are you pushing this?" Dajh shot back hotly. Vanille resisted the urge to step back.

"I just... I know what it's like to keep something inside, not talking to anyone about it." She revealed, hoping to make him understand it was only her intention to try and help him, not upset him, "Sometimes it helps to tell someone-"

"What and I should tell you?" Dajh snapped, "I should _trust_ you with my deep, dark secrets? You may have saved Cocoon but you were part of the reason my father nearly broke back then." The young Katzroy knew somewhere in the back of his mind that he'd regret his words but he could no longer stop from saying them, "If you hadn't... If you and Fang weren't there that day when..." He looked away from Vanille, seeing the flash of guilt on her face, "Working for the Sanctum, not strong enough to resist... to put my dad through that." Sighing heavily, attempting to calm himself again, Dajh looked skyward, "I kept trying to be stronger but _he_ always had to protect _me_. I couldn't take care of myself let alone..." He trailed off, his eyes falling back towards the ground, "Nebu..."

"So this is about being brave enough?" Vanille continued to try to understand, "About being 'man' enough-?"

"Don't patronize me." This time Vanille did step back, seeing the flash of anger in his dark eyes, "You think that just because you know my father, you know me?" Vanille opened her mouth to apologize but Dajh had already turned away, shaking his head.

The Oerban swallowed a lump in her throat. For as much as he argued against it, there was no doubt in Vanille's mind he was more like Sazh than he claimed. For in that brief flare-up, she was instantly taken back to that day in Nautilus. While she was in a lush, green forest glittering with natural glow rather than a heated city full of synthetic light; while she didn't have the firearm in her face; all she saw in Dajh's moment of outburst was Sazh's mixed expression of fury, fear and the subtle allusion of guilt.

"Look let's just... pick the flowers and go home." Dajh all but pleaded as he continued along the path ahead of them. Vanille merely nodded and started after him.

"I wonder how Fang's doing." She decided to take the liberty of being the topic-changer, "Or Light and Hope for that matter."

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Dajh answered distantly.

Elsewhere, around the same time, the shuttle with the aforementioned group on board was diving headfirst towards a rather perilous-looking mountain ridge.

"We are _NOT_ going to be fine!"

"I'm sorry but _you_ are not helping!"

"_I'M _sorry, do you not see the bloody ground rushing up to meet us!"

"I'm sorry but would you both kindly shut up!" Hope yelled over his shoulder at the two women screaming at each other. Both of them stared at the First Lieutenant and current pilot like two deers caught in headlights—or rather two deers on a shuttle about to crash into the ground. Either way, the both of them remained silent, "Thank you."

Turning back towards the controls, Hope managed to straighten the aircraft out but the engines were still failing and they were still falling. They were on the edge of the storm and as soon as they'd passed through one of the cloud walls, the systems on board the shuttle had begun to go haywire. It wasn't long before they'd started the unintended super-accelerated descent.

"Both of you, brace yourself!" He yelled again, flipping some last-minute controls, "It's going to get a little rough."

"Would that be before or after we smash into the ground?"

"Oh Fang would you please just shut u-!"

There was a deafening crack followed by an ear-shattering screech of metal on rock as the shuttle made contact with the mountainside. The three on board were violently thrown from their seats as the craft tumbled onto it's side, the momentum rolling it over and over before it hit a particularly large rock, flipping it one last time, back upright. The broken landing gear hit an upward slope, effectively slowing the shuttle to where it eventually skid to a stop against the rocky ridge.

Save the settling dust cloud that trailed behind the damaged vessel, there was no other movement. The lights within the craft flickered along with a few sparking wires that'd been torn loose. For a long while the scene remained unchanged until one of the doors flew open to reveal a disheveled Lightning and limping Fang half carrying and half dragging out a semi-conscious Hope. The three of them eventually collapsed a good dozen feet from the crash site.

"Well, that went well, all things considered." Fang spoke up, breaking the silence. Lightning shot her a look while she helped Hope sit up. The First Lieutenant groaned but seemed free of any life-threatening injuries.

"Did we-?"

"It's okay, we're all okay." Lightning assured Hope, noticing a cut along his forehead and a particularly long gash along her own arm, "We'll be fine—Fang could you see if you can find the shuttle's first aid kit?" Receiving no response—in either words nor movement, she turned to the Oerban, frustration sinking in, "Fang-" She stopped when she realized what had rendered Fang unable to either reply or move.

Not 10 feet away was a giant wall of cloud, shimmering and shifting. Blurry shadows could be seen behind the murky barrier every time there was a flash of one could only assume was lightning, each time the shadows were different. They were moving. No, not just the shadows. The clouds were moving. Towards them.

"I... think we should-"

"Fang, we have to move!"

"Right, that." The Oerban turned as Lightning swung Hope's arm over her shoulders and began to lift him off the ground. Fang joined her and the both of them began heading back toward the shuttle, hoping it would at least provide some form of resistance against whatever the storm wall would bring.

But they weren't fast enough. The cloud hit them just as they reached the crashed craft. And it hit them like a wall of stone, knocking them all off their feet and blotting out what little sunlight there was.

_I'm scared._

"Hope?" Fang called into the darkness that surrounded her.

_You're not gonna go through this ordeal alone, you know._

"Light?" The Oerban lifted her hand to her face but there was nothing. It was totally darkness. And she was completely confused, "Hope? Lightning?" She repeated. There was a cold burst of air that hit her, causing her to reflexively raise her arms to her head and shut her eyes. When she opened them again, this time she could make out faint shapes, indistinct shadows.

_But that's what scares me! I don't... I don't wanna see you get hurt because of me._

"Hope? Hope is that you?" Fang began to walk towards the dim light, squinting, attempting to make out the moving shadows. From what she could tell, she was inside one of the storm cloud walls.

_It would be better for everyone if I just stayed behind._

Before Fang could call out again, the light suddenly flared, and another stronger blast of air sent Fang stumbling backwards. The dark cloud around her seemed to be blown away, her vision blurred again as her eyes began to adjust to the much brighter area. As her eyes slowly began to focus, she felt the ground shake beneath her feet as something huge, something towering landed in front of her.

_Mention ordeals, and look what comes along..._

Fang stopped breathing for a moment as she heard the words—the voice. She blinked through the whirling dust in the air and tried to find the source of the voices. When she did, her eyes widened as she ignored the irritation behind them. She was so wrapped up in disbelief, the next few sounds she heard came in faint and blurred. She didn't really hear them, she was too busy trying to process what she was seeing.

"Alexander...?" She breathed. The Hulking Eidolon stood in all his majestic glory, clenching and relaxing his massive fists, preparing to do battle. But what was more bizarre was standing in front of the Eidolon, between him and Fang were Hope, Lightning and- "Me...?" Fang stared at herself. Herself in her sari. Lightning was in her Guardian Corps uniform and Hope... Hope was a kid, "What-?"

_"Ready?" Her doppelganger looked over at Lightning._

_"Ready." The pinkette replied._

"Hang on a minute-!" Before Fang could take another step towards them, Alexander began his attack. Fang again shielded her head with her arms as the three figures in front of her engaged the Eidolon. In her confusion she couldn't make out a lot of the battle. But what she did, it was more like she was remembering it. Watching it play in the back of her mind. She'd done it before with many other memories but this was... something else. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, her doppelganger landed two feet from her, skidding from being thrown by the giant guardian beast. Fang remembered that landing clearly, it'd been just before-

"No, wait!" She attempted to stop her other self but she was already charging at the beast. She jumped at him but hadn't noticed he had already pulled back an arm. Fang could almost feel the sickening crack of bones that she heard break as her doppelganger got swatted aside. As she saw her other self hit the wall of the canyon she shut her eyes, and looked away. As soon as she did so, the area fell silent. No more yells of a frantic Hope, no more sharp sounds of Lightning's gunblade against Alexander's armor.

Slowly opening her eyes again, Fang found herself staring at the crash shuttle, lights still flickering, cables still sparking. To her left, Hope was leaning against the aircraft with an expression of total bewilderment. A little to Hope's right, Lightning was on one knee, on the ground, hand on her gunblade. As she met Fang's gaze, the look in the cerulean orb sent an unnerving shiver down her spine. The Commander looked as if she'd seen a ghost. There was no longer any doubt in Fang's mind that the other two had seen what she had—felt what she had.

"What. In the hell. Was that?" Hope eventually spoke the words all three of them were thinking.

* * *

**A/N:**

I'm with Hope.  
What **_WAS_** that?

I don't know. I bet Alexander does.  
Because Alexander is king.

This chapter was originally longer but... my editor-llamas decided the last part would be better as the beginning of the next chapter.  
_"MORE IMPACT!"_ they said. Yes, I talk to llamas.


	28. Commander and Chief

**Commander and Chief**

* * *

Eve snapped her hand back as the cable she was working on spat sparks of electricity in her drcetion. Sighing heavily, she dropped the cable and stood, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She'd been working for a good few hours setting up the equipment as Lightning had ordered. She'd occasionally check on Alva. Her sister's fever hadn't completely gone and she'd started coughing, groaning quietly when she thought Eve wasn't looking or listening.

"If you want to stay with her, I can probably finish up here." Sazh's voice brought her gaze back towards the mass of equipment in the middle of the large room. She hadn't noticed her eyes drift in the direction of the bedroom. She cleared her throat, shaking her head while moving to grab another tool, "Go on, we've only got one more console to hook up." Sazh motioned toward the bedroom as he stood, folding the tool in his hand, "Better yet, you could head over to Serah's, she could probably whip something up something similar to what Vanille gave you. She's learned quite a bit about the healing properties of the plant life around the village."

Eve didn't respond right away. She fiddled with the tool in her hands. She couldn't deny Alva's condition greatly concerned her. And she knew it was affecting her work. The strange remedy Vanille had given her for Alva was down to the last sip. And while it had helped the fever, Eve could tell Alva was still in pain.

"Serah?"

"Oh... she's..." Sazh trailed off for a moment, considering the best introduction, "Snow's wife. Her house is farther down the hill, nearer the lake. One of the largest, bright red roof." Sazh motioned towards the door. Eve didn't moved, still contemplating the suggestion, "Go on, I'll keep an eye on your sister." Still, Eve remained in place. The man had an honest face and trustworthy eyes but her protectiveness towards Alva ran deep, "I understand your hesitation to leave her in the care of a stranger but I have a son—who wasn't always nineteen. I can take care of your sister for a few minutes, which is really all it should take." He assured the Lance Corporal.

Glancing one last time towards the spare bedroom of the house, Eve set the tool in her hand back down and nodded, making her way around the equipment toward the front door.

"Thank you." She mumbled before exiting the house and following the path down the hill towards the lake. Stretching as she walked, Eve allowed herself to take in the surroundings. She'd never seen so much greenery. Granted Crystallinus wasn't exactly void of nature but where Crystallinus was carved from the crystal from Cocoon, Oerba Neo seemed to be built up from the ground of Gran Pulse. Both were spectacular in vastly different ways.

Eve only had a minute or so to take in the beauty for before long, she'd reached the large house Sazh had mentioned with the bright red roof. Slowly making her way around the front, she straightened out her uniform and knocked on the door. There was no answer for quite a while but as she raised her hand to knock again, the door was pulled open. She blinked at the woman that stood in the doorway. The first thought crossing her mind was of the Commander who should have been far, far from the village.

"Hi... you must be..." The pink-haired woman spoke first, "Fang?" Eve was snapped out of her trance at the name of the first stranger she'd met back in the city.

"Uh, no, I'm... my name is Eve- uh, Lance Corporal Eve DeFluo." She saluted out of reflex, then mentally kicked herself at the stupidity of her actions, "I, I work with Commander Lightning Fa-"

"Oh, you work with my sister!" The woman reacted excitedly, stepping into the house and waving Eve in. Sister? "Please, come in." Eve obeyed awkwardly, noticing the coziness of the house as the woman shut the door behind her, "I'm Serah, Serah Farron." The pinkette smiled as she extended a hand which Eve barely hesitated to take, "Cla-Lightning is my older sister." Eve merely nodded in acknowledgment as she was guided into the kitchen. The resemblance was so uncanny, she thought for a moment they may have been twins. But there were subtle differences she noticed that told her that wasn't quite right.

"I was told by Snow that she'd arrived with company and were setting up at her place but every time I set out to head up there to greet you guys, something came up." Again, Eve merely nodded, "Besides I'd heard you all went out on the shuttle earlier—would you like some tea?"

"No, thank you," Eve raised a hand as Serah lifted a pot off the stove, "I'm fine." The Lance Corporal was keen to get to the main reason for her visit but found it very hard to interrupt the pinkette's welcoming.

"So how do you know Claire?"

"Claire?" Eve asked, eyebrow raised. A flash of regret crossed Serah's face before she sighed, shaking her head.

"Lightning, Claire is her real name. I'm sorry she insisted I never use it in and or around her job but her job's rarely found itself in the village so..." The younger Farron explained, "I still don't know why she doesn't use it, it's such a pretty name." Serah motioned with her hand towards Eve who found it hard not to nod her head in agreement, "Please uh, do me a favor and maybe not mention I told you?" As she nodded once more, Eve's underlying concern for Alva broke through.

"I apologize for cutting the pleasantries short but I came at the suggestion of Mr. Katzroy," She began, "My sister is sick and he suggested I come to you, told me you may be able to help-"

"Right, right, of course, I'm sorry it's just... Claire's never brought anyone from work back to the village before—well, unless you count Hope... and perhaps Dajh now, I suppose—but they don't really count." Once again, Eve found it difficult to interrupt the pinkette as she began pondering aloud, "Oh and it's not_ 'Mr. Katzroy_', it's Sazh—he hears you call him that, he may have one of his chocobos chase you around the village." Serah said through a laugh.

"R-Right."

"You said you're sister's sick?" Serah began to move toward the door leading out of the kicked toward the back of the house, motioning for Eve to follow, "What are her symptoms?" Eve followed the pinkette, listing off the things Alva had admit she felt, along with the few her younger sister thought she hadn't noticed. When she'd finished, they'd arrived in a small but vibrantly flourishing garden.

"That's... quite the list." Serah began, "The herbs and flowers I have here may not be enough to make a salve strong enough to completely cure her but I can at least give you a few things that may ease the pain."

"Anything you could offer would be greatly appreciated, ma'am."

"Ooooh no you don't." Serah frowned at the Lance Corporal, "There will be no military mannerism in my house, I'm Serah, you're Eve. There will be no _'ma'am'_s, no ranks and if I see a salute, you'll wish it was a chocobo chasing you around the village." Blinking through a feeling akin to fear, Eve nodded in understanding.

This was Commander Farron's younger sister. Despite the distinct difference in personalities, she could see the family resemblance clear as day. She briefly considered which of the Farrons' personality was stronger. It'd seem natural to her that Lightning would have been the leader or 'chief' of the village so to speak, but now Eve was reconsidering the candidate for that particular role.

"So how long have you been working with Claire?" Serah's question ended Eve's metal contemplation while picking a selection of different flowers.

"Only for a few days, actually." Eve admit, "I transferred into her training unit as an assistant."

"Interesting." The surprise in the pinkette's voice piqued the Lance Corporal's curiosity.

"Is it?"

"Well, for a couple of reasons." Serah began to explain, moving around to a different section of the garden to continue picking out plants, "One is that Claire still hasn't quite learned how to play well with others and two..." The younger Farron trailed off, her eyes now on Eve—studying her almost, "You remind me of her, I'm not quite sure how so I chalked it up to you having worked with her for long enough to have picked up a few of her mannerisms." Eve wasn't entirely sure what to think of Serah's admission, "I'm sorry, I just-"

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"

"Moooooom!" Two voices caused Eve to jump. Before she could even begin to contemplate what had just happened, something brush past her to practically tackle the pinkette in front of her.

"Boys! Boys!" Serah gently calmed the boys, throwing an apologetic look at Eve, "Why are you screaming? Can't you see we have a guest?" Eve looked between the twin boys that clung to their mother's blouse, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Hello-"

"You're with CRYSIS, right!"

"Do you have a gunblade?"

"Do you have an AMP device?"

"Do you work with Auntie Claire-?"

"Syd! Noah!" Serah pulled the two before they could pounce on the young officer, "Come on now, what was it you wanted to tell me?" Even Eve had to hold back a smirk as the two boys began talking at once, "Okay, stop." The twins immediately did as told, "Syd, then Noah."

"But he got to go first last time."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Do you want me to take away the AMP devices again." Serah warned.

"Auntie Claire came back with Hope and a funny dressed lady. We saw them when Dad came to pick us up-" Syd began.

"But they looked hurt so he told us to come get you and tell you to meet them at Auntie Claire's house." Noah finished.

Serah looked up at Eve, whose face was full of apprehension again, "Alright, we'll head there right now, okay? Did daddy tell you to bring anything?" She received two shaking heads in response, "Okay, I want you two to go to Renee's alright?"

"What?"

"But we wanna see Auntie Light!"

"And the new lady!"

"You'll see them both soon enough boys, now come on, off you go." She gently urged the boys back towards the house. They pouted but eventually turned and left as quickly as they'd appeared. The pinkette handed Eve the herbs and flowers she'd gathered and led her back through the house and up towards Lightning's.

When they got there, Hope was lying on the couch—Sazh next to it, examining the soldier's head. Fang was leaning against the kitchen counter soaking a towel. Snow was trying to calm Lightning down, who was pacing back and forth by the windows. Eve noticed that Vanille and Dajh had not yet returned. Placing the bundle of herbs on the counter, she slipped into the guest bedroom to check on Alva.

"What's going on?"

"I for one would sure as hell love to know." Lightning muttered. Seeing the raised eyebrow from her sister, she sighed and stopped her pacing, "Hi Serah."

"Nice to see you too, Sis." The younger Farron smirked. Snow left Lightning's side to walk over and plant a small kiss on Serah's forehead.

"The boys?"

"At Lebreau's."

"Anyone seen Vanille?" Fang spoke up from where she was standing, poking at the greenery on the counter, "She hasn't gotten back yet?" Her eyes shifted to Sazh who shook his head.

"You must be Fang." Serah turned to the taller woman. Fang, too distracted to notice when the younger pinkette had first arrived, got her first good look at the other Farron.

"And you must be Serah." She looked between Serah and Lightning, "Nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise."

"Pity we didn't sooner, kept missing each other, bloody crystal sleep and all." Serah smirked at the raven-haired Oerban.

"Right, I wake up, you go to into stasis—funny how that worked out-"

"Alright, could we focus?" Lightning interrupted the friendly yet exceedingly bizarre exchange between the two, "Please?"

"Well, what exactly happened, Light?" Snow asked. The majority of the people in the room continued to watch the elder Farron for the few seconds of silence before she began pacing again.

"We don't know exactly."

"We know taking the shuttle anywhere near the storm is a bad idea," Hope spoke up, pulling himself up slowly from his lying position on the couch, "It interferes with the systems on board. Also we got word from the city; anything powered by or linked to the energy in the Crystal Pillar is either malfunctioning or not working at all." The First Lieutenant continued, "We were lucky, we barely managed to fly the shuttle out of there and back here in one piece."

"Barely one piece." Fang muttered. Hope shot her a brief look, somewhat thankful Lightning hadn't seemed to have heard.

"It's safe to say the distance from the Pillar could've also had a part in the crash-"

"Hold on, the crash?" Serah put a hand up to stop Hope. She turned to her sister, "You crashed?"

"We didn't crash-" Lightning began to argue.

"We crashed." Fang stated, earning her a glare from the Commander.

"Look we're all fine, we're all here, okay?" Lightning refused to argue in circles. She cleared her throat before continuing, "We reached the edge of the storm and got... sucked into a cloud wall." She began to pace again, "We all had a... memory—a flashback—only we weren't just seeing it."

"We were reliving it." Hope clarified, "We were there... somehow."

"What, like the cloud brought you all back in time?" Snow chuckled at his verbal thought. The others looked between each other. Fang was particularly impressed at how Snow's outrageous suggestions or explanations—rarely intended to be taken seriously—still somehow managed to be the best one for certain situations. The room was filled with a rather uneasy silence, broken only when the front door was opened and closed, revealing a beaming Vanille and out-of-breath Dajh.

"We're home!" The bright-eyed woman exclaimed, revealing her rather gorged gathering pouch, not quite reading the mood, "Now I'm pretty sure I got all the ingredients for most of the salves I could think of-" She stopped as Dajh put a hand on her shoulder, noticing the intense atmosphere. She also noticed the younger Farron standing a few feet away. She perked up, remaining quiet but waving excitedly receiving a warm smile from Serah in return.

"What did we miss?" Dajh questioned eventually.

"We've gotta go back." Lightning decided, no longer having the patience to be talking in circles.

"Wait, hang on, go back?" Serah moved to block Lightning's path to the door, "You just got back—barely." The elder Farron sighed, opening her mouth to reason with Serah but the younger pinkette didn't give her a chance, "You arrive in the village, the first thing you do is go flying off into a storm; you come back worse for wear after experiencing something none of you can explain; and your first reaction is to go back?"

"Serah-"

"No, don't_ 'Serah'_ me, Lightning." A new feeling of unease began to spread through the room—in most cases. For the newer guests of the house, it was more a feeling of slight amusement, "Your investigation can wait a night, you should all rest and recuperate before you decide to play storm catchers again." Again, Lightning opened her mouth to protest but ended up just sighing, shaking her head and turning back toward the windows. Grinning victoriously, the younger of the two turned to the rest of the people in the room who just stared in subtle awe and wonder—including a half-hidden Eve at the entrance of the small hall that led to the spare bedroom.

The Lance Corporal had heard Vanille's arrival and had made her way back to the living room area to report on the situation with Alva. She caught the tail-end of the group discussion, meaning she's witnessed the Commander completely defeated by her sister. The question regarding the Farron sisters' personalities she'd asked herself earlier was most thoroughly answered.

"Eve." Serah spied the young officer at the edge of the room.

"Eve!" Vanille all but bounded over, "How Alva?" The Lance Corporal forced her eyes from the Farron sisters to meet the Oerban's questioning eyes.

"She's... I'm... I'm not sure," Eve stammered slightly, "I think there's something really wrong with her." The young officer almost lost her footing as Vanille bolted past her. She caught Lightning's gaze for a short second before turning and following. Serah moved toward the hall as well. But not before also glancing at her sister, giving her a look that reinforced the decision that'd been made for them to remain in Oerba Neo for the time being.

As the younger Farron left the room, Lightning—despite her intense desire not to—eventually caught Fang's eyes. The thoroughly gratified grin on the Oerban's face caused her heart to skip a beat and her temper to flare. And once again she was brought back to feelings of ten years ago—no storm cloud needed.

* * *

**A/N:**

Goodness gracious me that took _FOREVER_ to finish =_=;;;  
Serah Farron. Like Lightning, only scarier o_0

Another slow-ish one, sry peeps.  
The action will come, worry not. I just didn't plan Chps 25-30 very well.  
...well, more like didn't plan on them needing to be SO DAMN LOOOONG =\

ANYway, I gotta get ready for work.  
UGH, work =[


	29. The Art of Conversation

**The Art of Conversation**

* * *

Night had fallen over Oerba Neo and the majority of the village had eventually gathered at arguable the most convenient place one could sit back, relax, drink, eat, even sleep if needed. And by '_most convenient' _one really meant _'the only'_. And even then, the term was used loosely. More or less an inn, it was merely the largest of the buildings in the village which served as a recreational club of sorts. It also offered a few spare rooms for visitors to Oerba Neo from the city.

Running the club were co-owners Renee Lebreau and Yuj Tano. The latter usually handled the visitors and recreational facility aspects while Lebreau handed the bar/restaurant they'd integrated into the inn. Currently however, both owners were entertaining both their most frequent patrons and those that decided to show up only now and again; along with a few they'd never met before.

Fang, Snow, Serah and Sazh were sitting at a table near the windows. Hope and Dajh were talking at the bar, Vanille was engaged in a rather heated discussion with Yuj about neo versus original Oerban fashion. Lightning had excused herself to get some air out on the porch along the lakeside part of the building.

The air was chilly but not unbearably so. The lapping of the waves and gentle hum of the creatures in the night reminded Lightning of how much she missed the village. The city was beautiful, she couldn't deny that—but there was just something about the complete calm you could feel while standing anywhere in Oerba Neo that was unmatched by anything Crystallinus could offer. It sounded so incredibly cliché in her head but being in the village calmed her enough to let the thought slide. The presence behind her however, would not get the same leniency.

"Y'know, skulking in the shadows is rather unbecoming, DeFluo." She turned to see Eve stepping out from behind the corner of the building. The Lance Corporal had originally declined the offer to join the welcoming gathering at the inn but under pressure from both Vanille, Dajh and Serah, she'd eventually caved and told them she'd join later in the evening.

"My apologies, Commander." The young officer walked to stand near Lightning, leaning against the porch railing.

"How is Alva?" Lightning decided to ask the obvious question.

"Better. Vanille found a rather effective elixir for her." Eve reported with a lightness in her voice that gave away her relief, "Her fever's completely gone, she's actually able to move around the house now—and her appetite..." Eve trailed off, shaking her head.

"I should be glad I don't stock my fridge?" The pinkette found a small smile almost reach her lips as the Lance Corporal let out a short laugh.

"I wanted to thank you, Commander." Eve said, turning to face Lightning, "For letting us come. I realize this mission is important to you-" The phrasing of the other officer's sentence struck something deep in the back of Lightning's mind, "-to Crystallinus." Eve corrected, as if realizing she may have said something she shouldn't have.

"I'm glad your sister is going to be okay." Lightning chose to ignore the odd moment, "And it isn't as if I couldn't use your assistance with this investigation. I appreciate the help."

"You lead, I follow, Commander." Eve stated, saluting formally.

"Lightning." The pinkette said, turning to look out at the water again.

"Commander-?"

"The rank serves me little out here—for this particular investigation." Lightning sighed softly, "Just Lightning." Seeing the bewildered expression on the other officer's face, she sighed again, this time heavier, "Think of it giving you less of a chance to piss off my sister."

"Of course, Lightning." Eve responded almost immediately. The both of them shared a look of a amusement before the door leading into the restaurant swung open. The two soldiers saw Fang standing two bottles, eyebrow raised as she sauntered over toward them.

"Well, ain't this quite the view." The tall Oerban asked through a smirk. Lightning merely rolled her eye while Eve straightened up off the railing. Fang moved toward Lightning but her gaze remained on the Lance Corporal, "Not interrupting any top secret military meeting, am I?"

"Fa-"

"Actually, I was just leaving." Eve interrupted. While she was taking her leave, there was clear challenging tone to her voice, "Lightning." The Lance Corporal bowed her head slightly before brushing past Fang towards the door.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't go picking fights with Eve." The pinkette requested, hesitantly taking the drink Fang held out to her.

"First name basis now?" Fang raised another eyebrow, "Don't you soldier types have a code of conduct about things like that?"

"Don't start." Lightning pointed a finger at the Oerban warrior in warning.

"Easy there, someone's a little on edge."

"Says the one who's acting like a jealous ex-lover." Fang nearly spat out the gulp of her drink as Lightning finished her retort.

"Whoa-ho! Where did that come from? Speaking from a little experience there, Sunshine?" Lightning merely sipped her drink, staring off into space, "C'mon..." Fang continued to pry, "Little sis is married, running around with two mini-Snows-" She smiled when she received a quick glare of a reaction from the pinkette, "-with another on the way. And big sister Lightning is still all by her lonesome?"

"We are not talking about this." Lightning failed to ignore Fang's verbal prods to her side. She turned to move away from the railing but was stopped by a hand on her arm.

"Fine, but we need to talk about something." Fang's voice was lower now, more serious, "We haven't talked since I saved you and the little puppy from the big bad Cie'th." Fang motioned in the direction Eve had left in, with her chin.

"It's such a relief to know your ego is intact." Lightning all but groaned, "We've spent the past day and a half around each other. We've talked-"

"No, we've bickered. And as entertaining as it's been, we're about due for an actual conversation." Lightning stopped her retreated and turned to face the other woman. Fang grew confused at the perplexed look on the pinkette's face.

"Can you _have_ an actual conversation?"

"And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I mean without joking or flirting—or both." Lightning paused, thinking for a moment, "Usually both."

"Hey, I take my flirting seriously, I'll have you know." Fang stated with a straight face, "I never joke about flirting."

"Of course you don't." Lightning began to move away again. This time, Fang used more than just a hand on the pinkette's arm to prevent her from leaving. The woman swung one of her arms around the soldier, trapping her against the porch railing. The close proximity initiating a particularly agonizing silence. It was ended quickly however as Lightning attempted to break free. But Fang refused to budge.

"Fang-"

"We're just talking, Light." Fang said, her voice low as a result of the closeness between the two, "I knew you weren't much of a talker but never figured you to run away from me."

"It's called personal space, Fang." Lightning argued, but no longer struggled.

"Why won't you talk to me?"

"We're talking right now."

"No, I'm practically pleading." The Oerban frowned, "And you're running away—I haven't even asked you how you been." Lightning met Fang's gaze. The look in the pinkette's eye confused the Oerban so much, she found herself leaning back, releasing her hold on the railing on either side of the soldier.

"How I've been?" Lightning struggled to put words to the rising feeling in her chest, "Fang it's been ten years. You can't just ask about an entire decade with _'How you been?'_..." The pinkette immediately closed up again, forcing herself to quell the violent wave emotions threatening to burst through her careful crafted control.

"Well how else would I ask?" The question was innocent enough—and she daresay Fang's tone of voice matched it appropriately. But Lightning was still too busy trying not to think irrationally, to think clearly. She pulled away from the Oerban, avoiding her eyes.

"I don't know, just not... I just meant..." The pinkette reached and grasped for words but found herself constantly empty handed, "It's not something I can just... answer, so simply."

"Who said anything about simple?" The unusual calm in Fang's voice did nothing to help Lightning slow loss of control, "Tell me Light. Just... talk to me. Please."

"This conversation is over." Lightning response hit Fang like a juggernaut, "I'm going to get some rest—you should too, we have a big day tomorrow." Fang didn't try to stop the pinkette from walking away this time, but it didn't mean the sting of being denied hadn't cut deep.

"Don't treat me like a subordinate, Light." The sharpness of her words caused the soldier to pause in her leave, "The uniform's borrowed, remember? I ain't no CRYSIS soldier." Fang folded her arms across her chest, "Meaning I don't answer to you, and you don't order me." Not expecting anger, Fang was caught off guard when the pinkette whirled around, temper flared.

"You're right." Lightning shrugged, exaggerating out of irritation at how childish she found Fang's behavior. She had neither the energy nor patience for it, "It also means you aren't my responsibility. Whereas Eve, is." She was aggravated enough to use the low blow—knowing Fang would react resentfully to the mention of the Lance Corporal.

"So enjoying your babysitting then?" Came a last counter from the Oerban.

"It's a hell of a lot less stressful than babysitting you!"

The two women had intermittently begun stepping towards each other in challenge and now found themselves right where they'd started, a mere foot and a half away from each other. Realizing this, both their tempers began to wane yet neither pulled away. Lightning swallowed a lump in her throat as she saw Fang lick her lips that had evidently gotten dry.

"Eeeek!" A high-pitched squeal followed by a loud crash and thud forced the two of them apart. Both Fang and Lightning's heart were pounding—neither because of the sudden interruption.

"Vanille?" Fang said through a heavy breath. Lightning followed the Oerban's gaze to see the orange-haired woman on her behind, next to a broken potted plant, rubbing her side, grinning sheepishly.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt and I tried to sneak away, over the railing to head around the front but my belt caught on the plant and it was going to fall so I tried to catch it then I-"

"Vanille!" Lightning barked, quickly shutting the smaller woman up, "Just... calm down—were you going to tell us something or..." The pinkette softened her voice, not wanting to take out her frustration on the other Oerban.

"Well just... Eve came and joined us and it just reminded me of Alva and the elixir I used—the only one that really worked." Lightning noticed Vanille kept throwing glances at Fang and found her curiosity overpower her previous frustration.

"Wait, what elixir... what about it?"

"Well..." Vanille threw another look at Fang.

"Vanille?" Fang questioned.

"It's made of talonroot, felseeds, waterlily petals and... thornweed." Vanille's hesitation to recite the ingredients only piqued Lightning's curiosity and concern more, despite not know the relevance of the combination. Fang apparently did, for a wave of disquiet seemed to take a hold of the warrior. Lightning continued to look between he two.

"And... those things are significant because...?"

"It's the Dissidium Elixir." Fang revealed, staring at the pinkette with an almost apologetic look, "Our village used it occasionally, back before our first crystal stasis." Fang began to explain, "Vanille spent a long time learning from the elders, how to make it right, should we have had to use it." Lightning remained silent but her facial expression urged Fang for elaboration. The two Oerbans glanced once more at each other before turning to the soldier.

"It was used to slow the process of a l'Cie turning Cie'th..."

* * *

**A/N:**

DUN DUN DUN!

Sorry, I realize there was a bunch of talking and not enough action (and by action, I don't just mean with the kicking and punching ahem).  
But I'll say it once and I'll say it again. This is 10 years from the end of the game. No insta-FLight will be found here. There are plenty of other wonderful fanfics that can give you that heheheh.  
Like my _Sunshine and Rainbows_ piece-wait, that's more like ice cream... nevermind =\

Ugh it took forever to come up with a name for that elixir...

Also, there is now random art for the near-to-last scene floating around my dA gallery. Check it out if you wish.


	30. Roads Less Traveled Part I

**Roads Less Traveled Part I**

* * *

"So once we reach the Steppe, we'll head toward the mountain side here and take the path up the ridge that should be here. Hopefully we can make it to the top where there should be a decent view overlooking the Faultwarrens."

"That sounded like a lot of _'if'_s and _'maybe'_s."

"Well it's better than _'can't'_s and_ 'won't'_s."

Lightning, Fang, Hope and Snow were gathered around the the pinkette's kitchen counter—on top of which lay a device generating a holographic map of the area that lay under the storm. It displayed data on the land before the storm so they could only assume it remained unchanged—as unlikely as it seemed.

"okay, so we get there, then what?" Fang asked the obvious question.

"We gather data using the equipment kept here in the village." Hope explained, "Sazh is bringing it over." He looked as if he had more to say but hesitated, shooting a glance at Lightning. The pinkette caught his eyes and sighed.

"Then a smaller group will scout into storm," The Commander continued what Hope seemed to disagree with, "See if it's safe enough to continue deeper in—maybe even to Titan's throne."

"Okay, there actually were a couple of 'if's and 'maybe's in that one." To both Hope and Snow's surprise, Lightning did not react to Fang's snark with her usual hostile glare. Instead the soldier merely sighed and walked away, out of the open doorway to the truck parked just outside.

"Thank you Fang, you're never ending wit and satire is always the best way to start the day." Hope raised an eyebrow at the Oerban, intrigued by the strange behavior between the two—well, more Lightning's than Fang's but he decided investigating the latter would be less dangerous.

"Lightning's in particular." Snow added. Fang gave a little shrug as her lips formed a sly grin.

"Of course! What else would you have brought me back for?"

"Technically speaking, it wasn't either of us." Hope answered the joke with a motion outside. The Oerban turned to see Eve had appeared near the truck, along with Alva. The Lance Corporal saluted the pinkette as she approached. The smirk on Fang's face disappeared instantly at the new arrival.

"What's with the kid?" Snow asked, referring to Alva.

"Which one?" Fang snorted, referring to both, as she pushed off the counter and began inching toward the door. Not before catching the raised eyebrow from Hope, "What?"

Outside, Lightning was wondering the same thing as Snow. She was thankful that Eve had gotten ready early enough for her to explain the plan for the day but wasn't quite sure why Alva was with her. And was sitting on the back of the truck.

"DeFluo."

"Comm-Lightning." Eve caught herself as she greeted the superior officer.

"Alva." Lightning extended her own greeting to the smaller girl who sunk deeper into the bed of the truck, almost hiding.

"Alva!" Eve hissed.

"G'morning." The younger DeFluo said softly yet sharply. Both CRYSIS officers picked up on the tone but neither could begin to guess the reason behind the behavior. Eve gave Lightning an apologetic look. The strange avoidance and pointed stares didn't really bother the pinkette much. It was the news she'd heard last night about Alva, that concerned her more. She'd decided against telling Eve. She would eventually but she couldn't have the young soldier losing her head like she had in the city when they'd found Alva. Not right now.

"Vanille!" Alva's voice brought Lightning back. The smaller girl jumped out of the truck and bounded toward the side of the house where Vanille was studying a large tree.

"I'm s-"

"Don't worry about it DeFluo." Lightning cut the apology off, eyes still on Alva. The girl was certainly a lot more lively that the day before. There was little evidence of anything suggesting her underlying... condition—if Vanille and Fang's predictions were correct.

"Whatever Vanille gave her, it worked." Eve apparently was on the same train of thought, "She'd be ready to explore the entire of Gran Pulse if given the chance." Lightning found the comment both endearing and odd.

"Hang on, you're not thinking of bringing Alva with us...?" She focused on Eve who turned to her, eyes speaking the volumes of her seriousness, "DeFluo, I can't allow that. It's too dangerous."

"I know that." Eve responded almost immediately, almost as if taking offense to the suggestion that she hadn't already considered the risks, "I won't let anything happen to her." The fire in the young officer's eyes told Lightning she would not give up her position easily—if at all.

"DeFluo, I understand your position." Lightning tried to reason, "But she'll be safer in the village, we still don't know what to expect at the edge of the storm cloud, let alone within the Faultwarrens." She softened her tone of voice even more, "Believe me, I know what it's like to want to keep your sister safe."

"With all due respect, Lightning," Eve began after a brief moment of understanding, "You have people here you can trust with your sister's life." Eve turned and looked over at Alva who was now laughing as Vanille had begun poking at her sides, "Unfortunately I don't have that for mine." Lightning opened her mouth but found it difficult to formulate a counter.

"Let the kid take her sister." A voice caused both officers to tense up, "The more the merrier." Lightning recovered faster than Eve—probably out of experience—and turned to the Oerban warrior that had walked out of the house to meet them, "What? It'll teach her about duty and responsibility ...and stuff." Lightning raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't a joke, Fang."

"Who said it was?" The warrior motioned to Eve who was trying to figure out the woman's angle in the situation, "I know that look, Light, it's both or neither of them." The pinkette sighed, looking between the two darker-haired women. She really, really didn't need this first thing in the morning.

"Fang, this is practically a child we're talking about." The Oerban simply looked over towards Alva who had apparently turned to tables on Vanille and was chasing her around the tree with a large, fallen leaf. Watching the scene, Lightning realized Fang was delivering the point that Vanille—though significantly older that Alva—could be considered just as much a child. And she knew she wouldn't have second-guessed the idea of the younger Oerban coming along.

"It's different with Vanille and you know it."

"Is it?" Fang challenged. Lightning didn't reply. Her jaw merely tightened and her hands formed fists, "If anything, we should bring her along so we can keep an eye on her... condition." The Oerban added with both a hint and point. The tension Lightning felt faded, remembering the diagnosis Fang and Vanille had given the young girl. Even so, there was still the small feeling of distaste for the idea of Alva joining them, in the back of her mind.

"Fine," The pinkette eventually agreed, pointing at Eve, "But you are to keep an eye on her at all times and she is not to leave your side, understood." Eve responded with a positive, saluting the Commander. Without another glance at Fang, Lightning excused herself to greet an approaching convoy of chocobos, each one carrying a pack on their backs that looked as they contained disassembled scanning equipment. Sazh was leading them up the hill towards Lightning's house.

Eve stayed back by the truck and noticed Fang hadn't moved either. The taller woman caught Eve's gaze, the dark green orbs bore into her, studying her. The Lance Corporal refused to retreat from the scrutinizing stare and returned it with equal intensity.

"I almost lost her once, I'm not letting it happen again." Eve affirmed, "I understand the risks but I will protect her. I know what I'm doing." Fang remained still for a moment before she turned toward Alva and Vanille. Eve glanced over but quickly returned to meet forest green once more. The taller woman motioned in their juniors' direction.

"I hope, for her sake, you do." Was all the warrior said before moving away in the direction of Lightning and Sazh. As she watched Fang walk away, Eve tried to ignore the irritation she felt towards her. Fang had made her feel as if she's failed to prove her point—and that her promise to protect was more to convince herself than anyone else.

As Fang approaching Sazh and Lightning, she overheard the tail-end of what she assumed was the disagreement they were having over whether or not Sazh should be joining them.

"Claire, I'm asking you one more time, please," The ex-pilot pleaded, "Convince him to stay in the village, he doesn't need to be up there." Correction. The subject of discussion was the younger Katzroy.

"Sazh, you and I both know that once he sets his mind to something, it can't be changed." Lightning reasoned, "It's what got him here in the first place." She referred to his stow-away act. The elder Katzroy frowned, unable to argue against one of his son's personality traits. It was something his son had gotten from his mother, "If anyone could convince him to stay here, it'd be you."

"You don't think I tried?" Sazh sighed heavily, "Just... I've worked so hard so he doesn't have to go through anything we had to." He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Lightning give him a small smile.

"Maybe you don't have to."

"Don't worry old man," Fang interrupted the moment, reaching the both of them, "We'll watch your boy for ya. Make sure he doesn't do anything we wouldn't."

"I'm not quite sure how that's supposed to make me worry _less_." Sazh said, pointedly. He smiled however, at the bold confidence of the Oerban warrior. It'd been something he'd been wary of ten years ago but for all the nerve and daring Fang displayed, she never failed to justify it. Knowing deep down that while he could argue as hard as he wanted, he probably couldn't keep Dajh in the village. He accepted the small comfort that at least his son would be with people he could trust.

The three of them proceeded to load the truck up with the equipment Sazh had dug out of storage. While helping out, Eve asked about how the equipment was any different from the one they had brought from the city.

"It doesn't run on the energy from the Crystal pillar." Sazh explained, pulling out what looked like large cylindrical item, pulsing a pale yellow color, "It runs on these power cells that we charge using the wind and water around the village. There should be enough here to power this stuff for a couple of days." As he handed Eve the cell to examine, he pat the side of the truck, "This monster pretty much works the same way." Eve eventually returned the cell to the ex-pilot, visibly impressed.

It was still morning by the time the truck was packed and the people set to go on the trip had gathered. Lightning had convinced by Snow and Sazh to remain in Oerba Neo in the off chance the village began getting the same visitors as Crystallinus had. Both had argued and both had lost. Dajh had finally joined the group. He'd changed out of his CRYSIS uniform and was wearing a more casual outfit of Neo Oerban design. Hope had eventually come out of the house, carrying the A-L case and adding it to the small cluster of equipment packs on the back of the truck.

Finally ready, the exploration group piled into the vehicle. Hope in the driver's seat with Lightning in the front passenger seat; Fang, Vanille and Alva in the back; Eve and Dajh sat on the back of the truck—comfortably due to the less amount of equipment thus having more than enough space.

Serah made a brief appearance as Hope was pulling away from the house. After fully scolding her older sister for attempting to leave without word—much to the amusement to everyone else around—the truck pulled away from the house, through the village and eventually out into the wild.

For the first hour or so, the terrain was flat but the road was a winding one through the forest. And once they broke the tree-line it was an equally distorted path through tunnels underground. Old tunnels that remained from the fal'Cie Atomos, on the edge of the Mah'habara Subterra.

The question had been raised as to why the team hadn't made their way through Taejin's tower and taken the easier path out of the village. Hope had explained that the tower had been abandoned as a CRYSIS outpost since an attack years prior—the same one he'd discussed privately with Fang just before they'd left the city. It was had fallen further into ruin, making it impossible for them to have taken the truck through. So they would go around—or rather, under—using a series of older tunnels to reach the Mah'habara Subterra and eventually come up onto the Archylte Steppe.

"Rolling through here ain't as much fun without Atomos." Fang had brought up, referring to the tunnel the truck was currently navigating through. The truck came screeching to a halt as a large wall of rock suddenly appeared in its path, "No dead ends back then."

"The maps we have of the tunnels, particularly the outer ones, are pretty old and aren't easily updated." Hope defended, pulling the truck away from the wall and driving back down to a previous tunnel intersection.

"This isn't right." Lightning spoke up, continuing to study the map she was using to help guide Hope, "These tunnels shouldn't have caved in..."

"Well we can't assume that quakes are the only thing that's able to change the land." Hope responded logically, "There are plenty of other reasons why a tunnel of rock could collapse in on itself-"

"Speaking of which-" Fang interrupted.

"Hope, watch out!" Vanille's yell set Hope's reflexes into motion as he swerved the truck out of the way of a minor cave-in. Upon recovery, the First Lieutenant opened up the comm-link between the inside of the truck to the outside where the two younger CRYISIS personnel sat.

"You two okay back there?" There was a brief pause before Dajh's voice crackled over it.

"Where the hell did you learn to drive, Estheim?" Hope smirked as he began to relax a little, his grip on the steering wheel loosening ever so slightly.

"And Eve?" Lightning asked, the concern evident in her voice.

"Who was driving that shuttle yesterday?" Came a response from the Lance Corporal in question. Hope's smirk blossomed into a full-on laugh, "Wait... something's... off..." The comm-link didn't fail to pick up the worry in Eve's voice, "How far exactly does that storm-cloud stretch across? And how close to the Steppe do these tunnels run?"

"What?" Hope asked, confused, his laughter dying down.

"This... can't be good." Lightning muttered as she noticed something on the map.

"Okay, when Lightning says something can't be good, we're screwed." Fang half-joked.

"Assuming we're driving along this tunnel here-" the pinkette highlighted a specific line along the holographic map in front of her, "-and the storm hasn't moved, we're skirting the cloud-line."

"But we're underground," Dajh's voice popped up over the intercom, "Clouds usually stick to the sky don't they? Y'know with the light, fluffy, floating thing they have going-"

"Watch out!" Came another screamed warning, this time by Alva. Before Hope could react, something hit the back of the truck, hard. The vehicle swerved as Hope tried to regain control of it. The light that'd been keeping the road ahead of the truck lit, was knocked to the side, leaving Hope driving blind.

"Everybody hang on!" He ordered as the ground under the truck began to shake and the ground above it began to fall, "Dajh, Eve, stay as close to the front of the truck as possible!" He instructed through the comm. He was almost too distracted with keeping the truck from being crushed to notice the lack of response. Eventually the comm-link opened but all that was heard was static.

"...Alva!" Eve's voice suddenly broke through, voice disembodied but clearly frantic.

"Eve!" As the younger DeFluo called in response to her sister, the truck's light was swung back to light the road in front of them. Only it wasn't a road. For the split second they had a glimpse of it, Hope and Lightning saw hard scales, paired with mechanical plating. Large, sharp spikes fit for carving through pure rock spinning toward them.

"Atomos." Lightning breathed the fal'Cie's name before the giant, burrowing being collided with the truck.

* * *

**A/N:**

DUN DUN DUN! AGAIN!

_'Roads Less Traveled'_... UNTIL NOW!  
Ah... sorry this chapter seems so cheap, my brain's been bordering on a migraine since I started it... like.. 2 days ago =\

Don't ask what's going on because I don't even know any more... yeah... totally playing it by ear...  
Sorta... I dunno... we'll see ...or something =S

HEAD! HURTING! NEED MORE SLEEP!  
even though I got almost like... 10 hours last night.


	31. Roads Less Traveled Part II

**Roads Less Traveled Part II**

* * *

"Vanille! Move!" Fang screamed, running as hard as she could at the smaller girl. She barely managed to knock Vanille aside before a giant claw slashed at the ground where she'd just been. Rolling to a stop, Vanille half on top of her, Fang groan and coughed as dirt filled her lungs. In her arms, Vanille was shaking.

"Fang?"

"How many times have I told you?" Fang frowned as the both of them scrambled to their feet, "Don't just stand there like a ninny in front of it. You gotta keep moving! Confuse it!"

"Like this?" Vanille grabbed Fang's hand and yanked her out of the way of another lash of a claw. The taller of the two shrugged and grinned before nodding at the orange-haired Oerban.

The creature that had been attacking them—or at least attempting to—growled lowly and began to circle them. It was rather large, rather vicious looking brown bear. The two Oerbans had been hunting it for a while now and had finally caught up to it only to fail in their attempt at a surprise attack. Fang would have to find Vanille a less troublesome weapon because the situations the damn thing got them into were just one or a hundred too many.

"Okay, I'll distract it, you use that damn fishing rod to try and slow it down."

"It's a binding rod!" Vanille stamped her foot in a huff, clutching the weapon to her chest. Fang barely managed to duck and roll out of a leap from the bear.

"Okay! Okay! binding rod! It's a binding rod!" Another swipe at her caused Fang to jump away awkwardly, missing the landing and ending up on her side, "Now would you please use it on the bear!"

"Okay!" Vanille immediately perked up and pulled the rod back. Fang aimed to moved out of the bear's reach but found her leg caught on a tangle of vines. She shook at the grasp but couldn't break free. The shadow of the bear's claw brought her attention back up to it.

"Uh.. any time now, Van!" The dark-haired Oerban shut her eyes tight and prepared for the blow but it never came. Instead there was a loud howl and a large thump as the bear hit the ground near her. Peeking through on eye, she saw the giant creature struggling against it's entanglement by Vanille's hooks and wires. She broke into a grin and let out a loud whoop of triumph, "Alright! Van! That's how ya do it!"

"I caught it! I caught it!" Vanille jumped up and down, giggling almost manically. Fang watched the girl, her grin only growing wider at the small celebration dance. However, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the bear had somehow gotten to where it could stand on it's feet. Vanille had caught it, but now she had to keep it.

"Vanille! Watch out!" Before she could finish, the creature let out another bellowing roar before it yanked hard on the wires, lifting Vanille clean off the ground. The smaller Oerban yelped as she tried to land and remain on her feet while the bear continued to thrash against the bindings, "Van! Van, you gotta-" She winced as the younger girl hit the ground on her side with a yelp, "-you gotta get a better grip on the fishing pole! Don't let go!" Fang instructed, yelling as she continued to escape her own entanglement.

"I already told you, Fang!" She stopped as she saw other girl stamp her foot again, digging the heels of her shoes into the dirt, "It's called-" She heaved the rod back hard, "a binding rod!" The tug on the weapon tightened the constraints around the bear, causing it to yelp and fall over again to the ground. It continued to struggle until it began to realize the more it did, the tighter the wires around it got. Fang's jaw dropped in amazement as she saw the look of utter defeat in the animal's eyes.

After a long few moments of deafening silence, both Fang and Vanille began screaming.

"Did you see that? Fang! I got it! I totally got it-!"

"I can't believe you just did that! You were all like Raaaar and it was all like Graaaawr-!"

"I did what the elders told me, plant my feet and pulled with everything I had-!"

"That was totally amazing! I knew you could do it, Van!"

During the celebration scream-fest, Vanille had made her way over to Fang and helped get her loose from the grasp of the vines on the ground. The both of them then inched their way towards the bear. It was still breathing, and still hadn't lost it's presence of raw, physical power. But the look on it's eyes and the heavy rasps on it's breaths told them it was no longer and immediate threat.

"So? How was it? Told ya I'd get you the best birthday present ever!" Fang had a toothy grin on her face as Vanille turned to her, an equally wide expression of satisfaction on her face.

"Definitely the best!" Vanille threw her arms around Fang in a hug than nearly threw both of them off their feet again.

"Who says you're not old enough to hunt." Fang scoffed as they pulled apart, "Forget what the elders say! You're twelve now! That's makes you practically a teenager!." Fang beamed with the pride of her own age of fourteen years, "Besides as long as you're with me, we can do anything!"

Gasping for breath, Lightning's eyes shot open. She was met with a dim flickering and a soft buzzing noise. As her senses adjusted to the quiet chaos, she heard other coughs and more movement from around her.

"Light?" Hope's voice reached her first. She sat up, reaching up to touch her neck which felt as it it'd been snapped. She found Hope by her side seconds later, hair tousled, jacket ripped but otherwise without injury, "Light, are you alright?"

"What... happened...?" The pinkette asked as she was helped to her feet. Other than the stiffness in her neck, she didn't appear to be harmed much either, "Where are the others?"

"Over here!" She was answered by Dajh who was helping Fang out from under a part of the truck with the help of Vanille. The two CRYSIS officers ran over to help and lifted the sheet of metal away so Fang could crawl out. Coughing, the raven-haired woman got to her feet, dusting herself off, also more or less unharmed. The truck was not as lucky as it's passengers, however. The entire body had been crushed, half of it ripped open. The back of the truck had twisted almost completely off and three of the wheels were missing, the last one still spinning, barely hanging off the axle.

"Well... that was fun." Fang said with the rolling of her shoulders and stretching of her arms, "Let's _not_ do that again."

"That memory..." Hope looked between the two Oerbans, "That was yours."

"Well obviously." Fang rolled her eyes, "C'mon, you couldn't tell from my impish grin and my advanced, developed combat skills?"

"You were on the ground with a plant around your leg for most of the fight." Vanille said quietly with a devious smirk on her lips. The others all raised their eyebrows at the taller of the two.

"Hey! I saved your butt from that first attack, if I hadn't pushed you out of the way, you woulda been bear-food." She motioned to the CRYSIS Personnel, "They all saw it, they were there."

"That's right, we _were_ there..." Lightning said, ignoring the humor of the bickering between the two, "Just like before."

"Um, I hate to interrupt this lovely drive, crash and burn down memory lane but..." Dajh spoke up, raising his hand, "...Where are Eve and Alva?"

"Help!" As if hearing her name, Eve screamed from somewhere on the other side of the rubble. The other 5 ran around at the beg for assistance. Eve was kneeling while Alva was sitting on the ground, breathing hard, coughing up a storm. It was clear the girl was in pain and even more obviously trying to hide it from her sister. Luckily—in a way—Eve was too busy worrying about helping Alva to breath to notice, "She can't breathe! Vanille-!"

"She needs more of the Dissidium Elixir." Vanille stated as if reading the Lance Corporal's mind. She checked her pouch and found the vials she'd prepared were still intact. She quickly made her way over, opened one and helped Alva down the entirety of it. After a few more coughs and convulsions, Alva began to calm down, relaxing against her sister, nodding her head slowly to Eve's quiet yet frantic questions of whether or not it'd helped.

"Is everyone else, alright?" Hope quickly scanned the others one by one. He noticed cuts and bruises, but other than Alva's need for the Dissidium Elixir, no major concerns.

"Oh sure, just great!" Dajh spoke up again, "I mean, this stuff happens to me all the time, y'know, being run over by a giant fal'Cie—a fal'Cie that last time I checked, was supposed to be extinct!" The sarcasm in his voice was tinged with panic as he turned to Vanille, "And you!" He pointed, "You took on a giant bear while you were _twelve_!" The Oerbans just grinned sheepishly.

"It's impossible-"

"I'll say!" Dajh interrupted the pinkette in a short outburst. Upon receiving four rather varied looks, he cleared his throat, motioning for Lightning to continue.

"The Subterra's been empty for a decade." Lightning shook her head, beginning to search the rubble for a working datapad, "There's no way Atomos could have returned without anyone knowing about it—CRYSIS has this area on sensors."

"Uh, hello? Were you not in the truck that Atomos just rolled over?" Dajh spoke up again, "Literally!"

"Pulse-shift." Hope said, moving to help Lightning search.

"Say what, now?"

"Pulse-shift." Hope repeated, "From the data we gathered yesterday, we found the walls of cloud seem to be sweeping out from the center of the storm—which is located directly over the Faultwarrens." He motioned quickly for the others to start salvaging what they could from the crash, "Each wall or wave is laced with what we thought was lightning at first but it seems to be more than that. It's not only capable of frying computer systems like it did with the shuttle, but it also seems to affect the 'circuits' in the brains of humans."

"So... we were hit by a cloud and struck with lightning?" Dajh was struggling to fully understand the explanation, "We're underground."

"Which is why I thought we'd be safe down here." Hope continued, "Each wave also sends out an intermittent pulse of energy with enough to effect things physically."

"The blasts against the side and back of the truck." Fang muttered, pulling out a broken door and peering into the body of the truck. Hope nodded, tossing aside some more of the rubble.

"I didn't think we'd be effected through the ground." Hope mentioned, apologetically, "Nor did I think the energy pulses were also able to cause the time shifts and memories."

"We still don't know mmuch of anything at this point." Lightning cut into the conversation, pulling a crushed case from the debris, "And we never will if we sit around waiting here."

"Light we just got run over by a mechanical god, we've lost our means of travel and probably half the equipment we brought with us-"

"It was a Pulse Shift memory. We salvage what we can and continue on foot." Lightning responded straightforwardly, taking a break from her search and attempting to open the comm. device integrated into her CF gauntlet. All she found was static and a flickering mini screen above it, "Damnit." She cursed under breath.

Hope, checking his own device and finding the same result. He concluded that their position under ground and proximity to the storm-cloud had only worsened the functionality of CRYSIS-issued equipment; equipment that relied on energy from the Pillar.

Dajh, who had put aside his shock for the moment, had found a small box under a pile of debris and taken a look inside. He found it full of small power cells. Each were about an inch and a half long and maybe as thick as his thumb. Noticing the behavior of his superior officers, he made his way over to Hope. The First Lieutenant was confused at the boy's actions but didn't stop him as he raised the arm sporting the CRYSIS device. Taking 2 of the mini power cells, Dajh quickly began examining the underside of the device. Soon he'd found a small section that opened to reveal and extremely intricate maze of wiring and circuitry.

"Dajh-?"

"Don't move." The cadet accented his instruction with a gentle tug on the Hope's arm. As he carefully took a long tube of what looked like light blue liquid from the middle of the wiring, the surrounding wiring began to flicker and fade. He then replaced it with the two Oerban power cells. Hope was surprised to find they fit perfectly. However the device remained dark, powered down. Dajh hummed in excitement and curiosity, continuing to investigate the complex circuitry.

Lightning had noticed the two and had made her way over, observing the scene with interest. Dajh produced a small multi-tool from his jacket pocket and began disconnecting and reconnecting several wires. Hope glanced over at the pinkette. Neither of them had ever taken quite as close a look at the inner workings of of the devices as Dajh was presently doing, so neither were sure whether they to stop the boy or not. As a minute or so of silence past, it became obvious they'd silently decided to let Dajh continue.

"Aha!" The boy whispered loudly as she snapped two wires into place. There was a snapping noise as the circuitry flickered to life. Hope could feel the power being restored to the device as Dajh quickly replaced the cover of the opening. Plugging in instructions, the First Lieutenant was able to bring up a scan of the surrounding area. Both officers turned to look at each other, then at Dajh.

"What?" The boy said with a small shrug, "I have my moments... be them good or bad." He mumbled, recalling his earlier freakout.

"Could you do the same with my CF device?" Lightning asked, holding up her wrist. Dajh merely grinned and held out a hand, motioning for her to give him hers. With one other look at the First Lieutenant, she met Dajh's request.

Still sifting through the crash, Fang tossed aside another sheet of metal to investigate what was underneath. Jutting out of a pile of rocks was the corner of a case. Removing what debris she could and grasping the exposed surfaces of the case, she pulled it hard, yanking it out from the rubble. The force ripped the top half of the case off and sent the bottom flying a few feet away, the contents of which, flew out and skid along the ground until stopped by a boot.

Fang's eyes drifted upward, still clutching the top half of the case, to see Eve standing, staring down at what looked to be the Assault-Lance in rifle-mode. The Oerban also noticed the Lance Corporal was holding her lance in one hand. She immediately felt a pang of heated hostility in her chest. Eve looked up from the weapon on the ground and held up the one in her hand.

"I'll trade you." With that, she threw the lance at Fang who tossed the fragment of metal in her hands to catch it and flip it around before holding it out in front of her.

"I personally woulda stuck with this if I were you." She couldn't help the taunting words leave her mouth—not that she'd particularly felt she had to.

"No thanks." Eve gave one last, brief glance at Fang before kicking the Assault-Lance up with her boot, catching it and unfolding it into lance-mode, "I... prefer my toy." Having handled the weapon with ease, grace and swiftness, the Lance Corporal had reminded Fang of another, pink-haired soldier. The eerie similarity made her frown more than the verbal counter to her earlier taunt.

"Careful you don't hurt yourself with it."

"You should probably worry more about yourself," Eve continued to counter, unable to resist the urge, "Considering the rate of which you manage to lose your own weapon and whatnot."

"I don't need my weapon to break that dinky toy in a second." Fang threatened lowly, spinning her lance behind her, her grip tightening.

"You're making this about_ size_? Really?"

"You little-"

"What's going on here?" The both of them immediately backed off when Lightning came around from the side of the crash, looking between the two. Neither of the dark-haired women responded, they remained locked in a glaring contest that could put Lightning's own icy stare to shame.

"You seem pretty confident, sure you should be walking around without your sister."

"She's fine, Vanille's with her." Eve emphasized the fact that she had no issue trusting Fang's smaller companion and vice versa. Fang all but growled, taking a step forward.

"Fang! DeFluo!" The pinkette raised her voice, breaking the both of their lines of sight by stepping directly between them. Her gaze ended up on Fang, looking at the Oerban for an explanation. Fang just shrugged.

"She started it."

"What are you? Five?" Lightning shook her head in disbelief, "We're miles underground, even further from the nearest break to the surface and you're picking fights?" With the pinkette's gaze on her as she continued to lecture, Fang felt like she'd been slapped in the face. Biting her tongue—literally—she raised a hand, scoffed and moved away shaking her head, muttering expletives as she went.

"Subordinate two, friend zero." The Oerban made one last dig before disappearing back around the mountain of debris. Lightning was left, pinching the bridge of her nose, willing the impending headache to go away.

"And you." The Commander turned to the Lance Corporal with a frown fierce enough to cause the younger officer to take a step back, "I expected better control from you." She walked over the Eve, grabbing the lance in her hands and refolding it, "And the A-L prototype is not a toy." She noticed the almost child-like longing look the other woman was giving her as she'd taken the lance away, "Don't make me regret choosing you to test it." She handed it back to Eve, "Understand?"

"Understood, Commander."

"Lightning." Lightning corrected as she stepped towards the remains of the weapon case, "And you're forgetting this." She grabbed and held out a gauntlet matching the colors of the Assault-Lance. Eve walked over and took the gauntlet from the pinkette. Upon seeing the Lance Corporal with the large rifle in one hand and gauntlet in the other, she realized one other thing.

"We don't have a holster for the rifle-mode." Eve looked at the rifle in her hands, then at the holster hanging behind Lightning. She met the pinkette's gaze which was full of thought.

"Lightning?" Eve questioned as the silence began to draw out.

"Come with me." The pinkette turned and head back towards where the group had begun to collect what they could save from the crash. Lightning dug out a small bag she'd packed that had remained unscathed. Unzipping it, she sifted through the contents before pulling out what looked like another uniform, "CRYSIS uniform from about 3 years ago. Back then, they were trying to create a way to be rid of holsters for their weapons—said they got in the way." She tossed the uniform at Eve who barely managed to catch it with her hands being full, "There's a device integrated into the back that basically creates a magnet that attracts the weapon it's linked with. Dajh can probably set it so it links to the Assault-Lance."

"This is... yours." Eve said quietly, noticing the red shoulder sleeve and a small patch on the front that read _'L. Farron'_. Lightning zipped up her pack and stood up, reaching over and ripping the name clean off.

"Not anymore." Lightning motioned back to where they'd just been, "Go. Change. It'll probably easier for Dajh to tinker with it if you have it on." Eve still rather bewildered at the Commander's solution to the mere lack of a weapon holster, hesitated before turning to follow the instruction.

Lightning looked down at the tag as the Lance Corporal walked away. She'd never liked that particular uniform, she'd gotten too comfortable with the holster, she'd found it impossible to get used to not having it behind her. The gentle tap of the holster against the back of her thighs as she ran had grown to become a comfort to her, the knowledge that she was still armed and still dangerous—though it was widely known and frequently mentioned by friend and foe alike that she didn't actually need the weapon for her to seem so. Regardless or her personal problem with it, she had donned the old uniform but did so for no other reason than to be recognized as a member of CRYSIS.

When the uniforms changed again, the weapon-lock technology was kept but still, Lightning chose not to use it. Her eye darted over to Hope for a moment, seeing the small pistol on his hip, held there with what looked like nothing at first glance. In actuality, the weapon-lock was integrated into the belt of his uniform, keeping the pistol in place. If she had the time and resources, she would have worked with Eve and the Assault-Lance using a holster but for now, CRYSIS technology at its finest would have to suffice.

Observing the pinkette, Fang sat atop a large pile of rubble, a few feet from Vanille and Alva, wiping down her lance. She was still ticked at how the soldier had once again picked a total stranger over her. It only stung more that the stranger seemed to have her face. Who the hell _was_ this kid anyway? Fang frowned as the Lance Corporal, who'd disappeared a few minutes ago, returned wearing something new. So whatever Lightning had given her had been a new set of clothes? Why?

Eve was now wearing a pair of black shorts and shirt—the belt she wore on top of them hung down off her hip slightly. She had on a sleeveless white jacket, the tail of which fell down to her thigh on one side and front, left her stomach uncovered. Her left shoulder was covered by a red shoulder wrap of leather and cloth with the CRYSIS emblem patched into it. Around her right forearm she'd attached a light gauntlet that Fang could only assume was linked to her weapon.

As Lightning reached over and adjusted the left arm strap, Fang felt the spark of annoyance in her chest burst into a full flame of fury. For a moment, the warrior entertained the wish that she had retained her l'Cie powers. But as she understood it, no fal'Cie meant no l'Cie. This should have been a good thing but what she would have given to summon an old friend to give the Lance Corporal a taste of his Gestalt Mode... She clenched the old rag in her hand, the upkeep of her lance forgotten now. As Lightning called the others over to discuss their next step, the Oerban tossed the piece of cloth away angrily before making her own way towards the group.

If anyone were watching as the piece of fabric flew into the darkness—away from the dim light of the crash—they would have seen a small sphere of wind flicker in and around it, carrying it farther than it should have traveled. They would have seen the Aero spell toy with the tattered cloth before violently tearing it to pieces.

* * *

**A/N:**

No bears were actually harmed in the making of this chapter.

Jeebus, now even my chapters have parts... =\  
I read somewhere that the fur Vanille wear around her waist, behind her skirt, was from a bear she hunted by herself.  
For some reason I didn't quite see her doing it _entirely_ by herself but I could imagine she had her awesome-moments.  
...kinda like Dajh ...sorta.

I totally botched the description of Eve's new uniform. For a visual reference, you may go to my homepage and view it either on the profile page or find it in the FFafterXIII gallery (if you haven't already).  
Oh I know some of you secretly stalk me on dA as well *evil grin*

My migraine is gone =3 Happy days!  
Also, there's a new poll on my profile page regarding more FLight. And more FLight is always good.  
So... yeah.


	32. Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

**Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire**

* * *

The small group had been walking for hours, during which they'd been hit by at least half a dozen different Pulse-shifts—occasionally coupled with mild tremors. However, they only lasted a minute or two at most and none of them seemed to be of any of their own memories. It was just as if they were walking through a few different time-lines, other than their own. And thankfully, the none of them featured the fal'Cie ruler of the Subterra.

By the time they had reached the opening onto the Archylte Steppe, the sun was setting. It appeared that the Pulse-shifts tended to last longer than they felt. Outvoted by the majority of the party, Lightning agreed to set up camp for the evening, rest for the night and wait until the next morning to continue on towards the Faultwarrens.

Of what little the group had managed to salvage from the crash, the bulk was research equipment so they'd have to make camp the old-fashioned way. Hope went about starting a fire while Fang, Vanille, Dahj and Lightning split into two groups to hunt for something to eat. Of course Vanille decided the split would be herself paired with Dajh and quickly dragged the young Katzroy off before either Fang or Lightning could attempt to argue—or Dajh for that matter.

The warrior and soldier, realizing they were stuck together, trudged off in a separate direction to hunt for food. As they did so, Fang was unusually silent, still annoyed from their last 'talk'. The hours that passed after it had involved much more walking than talking—between anyone, really. Every time the opportunity had risen where she'd usually have slid in a bit of snark to ruffle the pinkette's feathers, she hadn't. The incident between herself, Lightning and Eve repeated itself in the back of her mind. And she couldn't shake the irritation itching under her skin each time it did so. In short, she had been sulking—and appeared to be continuing to do so.

Contrary to the warrior's belief, Lightning had realized this. She'd seen it with Serah, she'd seen it with Dajh, she'd seen it with half the recruits she'd ever trained—or attempted to, at least. And while on those occasions she'd respond in her usual fashion (which often involved a verbal chewing out or mere indifference) with Fang it was different. It reminded her of how young Fang still was. While she'd been around as long as Lightning had—longer even—time stopped for the warrior while encased in crystal. Fang should have grown and aged with her but she hadn't, she was still twenty-one. Lightning knew that their bond of friendship shouldn't have been effected by something so irrelevant as a difference in age but it bothered her nonetheless.

The bond she had with Fang had always been different, it took a long while for Lightning to figure out how. She refused to risk losing it by treating Fang like it wasn't different, like it wasn't special, like Fang was just another young kid she could simply scold and move on. But the question then became: how exactly _should_ she deal with Fang?

"If I had a damn gil for every time you've sighed since we started out on foot..." The Oerban's voice finally broke the icy silence that'd fell upon them both, "What's the matter, Sunshine? Upset your little pet couldn't come along for the hunt?"

Gritting her teeth and resisting the annoyingly natural urge to respond with equal scorn, the pinkette merely sighed again and continued to walk.

"Oh, it's the silent treatment? Really?" Fang apparently had decided she'd had enough of sulking, "What was that you mentioned back in the city? About growing up?"

"Don't you dare talk to me about growing up, Fang." Lightning spun on her heel and practically growled at the Oerban.

"Why? It's not like there's anything else you'd actually _respond_ to me about." Fang refused to back down, raising her voice, "It's like the only way I can get any of your attention is to piss you off!"

"And as if you don't enjoy every last second of it." The pinkette's voice remained low but no less full of anger, "Why is that? Is my irritation that entertaining to you? Does driving me totally and completely insane amuse you that much?"

"I just want to talk to you!" Fang was all but yelling now, "It's not like you make it easy for me—for anybody!"

"Easy?" Lightning stepped towards the Oerban. The bold, aggressive move somewhat threw Fang off guard, causing her to take a small step backward, "You want_ 'easy'_? Alright." The soldier moved to lean against a nearby tree and motioned toward Fang, "Go ahead, tell me, whatever it is you want to say or need to talk about it." Fang found herself locked in Lightning's gaze, unable to break free, "I'm listening Fang. What is it?"

"I... I just..." Fang found herself unable to form words. The intensity of Lightning's eye on her. It wasn't really a glare but it was just as fierce—if not more so. Even though she was still a good few feet away from the pinkette—and still stood slightly taller—as she fell prey to Lightning's unexpected, undivided attention, Fang felt five times smaller, "I want..." Bewilderment morphing into frustration, Fang began again, "I can't..." Frustration quickly dissolved into defeat as she remained unable to verbalize much of anything.

"Well you certainly make it look easy." Lightning said as she turned away, shaking her head.

"You can't just-" Fang began once more and again could not finish, only this time she was cut off—and not by Lightning. The ground beneath them both began to shake. It quickly grew violent and the two were forced apart by a crack splitting the ground between them. The ground beneath Lightning began to rise, while Fang was forced to jump as her own segment beneath her feet swiftly sank, the surrounding area caving into it.

"Fang! This way!" Lightning called, already jumping from one collapsing chunk to the next, away from where they'd stopped, "The entire area is unstable, we need to get out of here."

"Ya think?" Fang shouted back over the sound of churning landscape. Deftly leaping to land and join the pinkette on a large branch of a tree, she paused to watch the area beneath them divide, sink and collapse in on itself. It occurred to her that the destruction of the land was much too violent to be natural; which then begged the question: What could cause it?

"-ANG MOVE!" Lightning's voice rang over the thunder of cracking ground. As Fang looked over to realize Lightning had jumped from the branch they'd been sharing, she felt it fall from beneath her feet, "FANG!" Mid-fall, the Oerban's reflexes quickly forced her upright. Dirt filled her eyes and lungs as she landed uneasily on an uneven surface. She barely managed to throw herself aside to avoid another branch of the tree that had fallen with her.

Watching the warrior from what seemed to be the perimeter of the chaos, Lightning saw the need for Fang to move quickly in order to avoid being sucked under. She quickly scanned the area, visualizing the best possible path for Fang to escape. Reaching the conclusion that it involved her adjusting her current position as well, the Commander began to move.

"Fang!" The pinkette yelled to get the Oerban's attention. As she saw Fang turn to her, she drew and unfolded her gunblade. Planting a foot forward, she launched the weapon towards the top of a large, unmoving rock face. The saber flew until it hit the wall of rock, blade-first. There was a mere second-long glance between the two women before both started running. Lightning skirted the outside of area that still looked as if it were being engulfed by the planet while Fang struggled to keep herself from being swallowed by the ground. She vaulted and jumped, using whatever surface she could—stable or not—to reach Lightning's gunblade.

As Fang made her final leap, Lightning had done the same off the ridge she'd been running along. Time seemed to slow as the two of them flew towards the weapon jutting from the rock face. Lightning reached it first, feeling it shift slightly as she grabbed it but feeling it remain planted in place. With little time to adjust her grip with the one hand, she swung, reaching out with her other to catch Fang's outstretched hand.

Firmly planting her feet against the wall of rock, Fang pushed up and—with a helpful pull from Lightning—she managed to vault up, over the pinkette, swinging herself onto even ground. Without hesitation, the Oerban reached down towards the soldier, still suspended from her gunblade. With a quiet grunt, Lightning swung herself up, catching Fang's hand once more. Yanking her weapon out of it's place in the rock, she—with Fang's assistance—pulled herself up over the edge. Both women ended up on their backs, staring up at the sky as both the ground and air grew still; silent sans their heavy, ragged breaths.

As the silence continued, Fang found her lips forming a grin. Sitting up, she opened her mouth to speak but Lightning beat her to it.

"I loved you." The words hit and shocked Fang harder than the quake had—harder than anything had, really. She entertained the thought that she hadn't made the jump for Lightning's hand; that she'd fallen, hit her head and was dreaming—or was dead. Either way, she couldn't move. She couldn't even turn her head to look at the pinkette.

"I loved you for a long time, Fang." Fang continued to hear and understand the words perfectly but continued failing to believe them, "But you were gone by the time I finally accepted it." Lightning continued with a sigh, "And soon it got to be too much, too hard."

Still frozen in place, Fang almost forgot to breath. The pounding in her chest would've filled her ears if the words spoken by the soldier weren't echoing through her brain as it attempted to fully process them. Having just received an admission with more depth and feeling than anything she'd ever managed to get out of Lightning, Fang had no idea how to react. She had no idea what to think.

There was another excruciatingly long period of silence before the sound of Lightning shuffling into a sitting position broke it. It also seemed to break whatever kept Fang unmoving—though not fully, for when she turned towards the soldier, Fang only glanced in her direction, out of the corner of her eye. The warrior couldn't bring herself to look directly at the pinkette.

Lightning, on the other hand, had watched the other woman's reaction closely. She honestly had no more of an idea as to why she'd just confessed years worth of heartache than Fang did. Yet she felt no panic, no regret. It wasn't exactly a sense of calm, but a sort of numbness seemed to have taken over her mind and body. The feeling almost prevented her from noticing Fang stand up, still avoiding her gaze. She eventually did the same, folding and holstering her gunblade that had sat loosely, forgotten in her hand.

"Still feel like talking?" Lightning asked. After standing for a good long moment without a response she nodded. She hadn't really expected an answer, nor did she blame Fang for not being able to give her one, "Didn't think so." There was no sarcasm in her voice, just a tone of acceptance, possibly apology. There was little doubt in her mind that her sudden confession was somehow a result of their previous conversation. Lightning had never been one for small talk. She only talked in length and detail about important things, things that mattered. And when it came to Fang—after almost a decade—her feelings for the Oerban had grown to be all that mattered. So in hindsight, Lightning merely gave Fang what she asked for albeit more than the warrior could handle.

Even if Fang had somehow managed to sort out the disarray in her head to form words, she wouldn't have had the chance to speak them. A shock wave suddenly struck the two women, resonating through their bodies and echoing through their minds. In similar fashion to the quake, a Pulse-shift had hit the two of them strong and fast. And once again, Lightning and Fang—while in the midst of an emotionally intense moment—were thrown into chaos.

* * *

**A/N:**

Not only was there much contemplation while writing this chapter...  
There was also much regarding whether or not to actually post it.  
The reason being... it totally got out of control and by the time I'd finished, I'd forgotten what I had originally planned...

So yeah. There ya go.

I also have a splinter in my right index finger that I can't get rid of.  
Just thought you should know.


	33. Cie'th Cie'th, Bang Bang

**Cie'th Cie'th, Bang Bang**

* * *

_The fal'Cie are fools. Gran Pulse and Cocoon fal'Cie alike; fools, the lot of them. Endlessly circling in a meaningless attempt to reach beyond their stations. _

_The Makers breathed life and power into us not meant for the humans. L'Cie should never have been brought into existence. Humans were not meant to bear the mark of the Makers. They are not worthy._

_My foolish younger siblings brought about the end of all our existences on the belief of a myth. Even if it were a truth, a mere sacrifice of human souls—no matter the multitude—would not be nearly enough to bring the Makers back._

_Spoiled children, ruining everything they have in a tantrum to get what they want. Their crusade for salvation only leading to their destruction. Absurdity._

_Thus an inevitable end draws near. An end not even I can prevent. An end not just for the fal'Cie but for the worlds we gave life to; worlds we poured our life force into sustaining._

_I will not see my creation destroyed by the insanity of my kin. Should I fall, I refuse to let Gran Pulse fall to the same fate. My creation will not be the same failure as our Makers'. _

_I will leave my mark. I will not bear a mere l'Cie like the others. My legacy's husk will be carved from my own, it's essence taken from the strongest of my own creations. But they must be tested._

_I am Gran Pulse, and I refuse to fall. I am Titan, and my will shall survive long after the end of the fal'Cie._

A blinding flash of light ended the memory. Vanille and Dajh, snapping out of it, struggled to remain on their feet. Vanille reached for a tree nearby to maintain her balance while Dajh fell to his knees. The pulsing in their heads and stars behind their eyes temporarily hindered their vision and balance.

"Okay, remind me again why I bitched and whined to come on this expedition?" Dajh panted as he leaned back on his heels from his kneeling position on the ground.

"Something about finding answers," Vanille responded from her position leaning against a nearby tree, equally out of breath, "Or Following orders from your commanding officer?" She added another suggestion, "Or to prove yourself to your father?"

Dajh was surprised to find himself laughing at the unnecessary list of options to pick from. Slowly getting to his feet, he dusted himself off; noticing the surroundings hadn't changed much and time didn't seemed to have jumped forward during the Pulse-shift. Everything was the same sans the large root that'd broken up through the ground between them.

Leaning down for a closer look, Dajh examined the protruding limb. He noticed it wasn't any shade of brown matching the surrounding trees. In fact, it was almost black in color, with a flaky white, almost glittering layer over it. As the sunlight filtering through the trees touched it, the bright reflections immediately sent Dajh backwards. He'd only seen anything like it once before. Once before, very recently.

"Uh, Vanille," He hissed slowly, his eyes darting over to the small woman who was busy poking at another large tendril that was wrapped around an actual root of the tree she'd been resting against. She let out a small squeal as it moved. Dajh jumped over the tendril at his feet and pulled her away as the both of them began to retract toward a bushy area a few feet from them. As they continued to watch, something finished breaking through the ground and pushed through the foliage to step out onto the path, "Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me…"

Not five feet away from them, now stood a creature at least eight feet tall, it's skin the same darkness as its tendrils. It's main body was covered in the white, flaky crystal. The larger, deep red crystal protruding from it's chest pulsated menacingly. The tendrils—apparently substitutes for arms—swayed around it's lower body.

"Don't... move..." Dajh mumbled to Vanille. From what he could tell about the creature without an actual head-therefor eyes to see them-it hadn't seemed to have noticed them yet. It seemed to be searching for something, moving in slow circles in its place in the middle of the rough path.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air, followed by a few rounds of rifle shots. Immediately, the creature turned toward the other two on the path.

"Oh hell..." Dajh managed to mutter before it bounded towards them. He found himself being pushed unceremoniously out of it's way by Vanille, who jumped in the opposite direction. Dajh scrambled to his feet just in time to see the creature continue down the path as if not even realizing they'd been there. He met Vanille back on the path, "We should run-" He'd barely finished the sentence before Vanille had taken off after the creature, "I meant away!"

"It's heading back toward the camp!" Vanille yelled over her shoulder. Blinking a few times, Dajh's shoulders slumped as he groaned.

"Of course it is..." He grumbled before taking off after the Oerban.

For it's size, the creature moved impressively fast. However, it also left quite the trail while attempting to take the shortest possible way to wherever it was headed; carelessly destructive and easily followed. As Dajh and Vanille drew closer to the camp, there was another round of shots fired.

"Hope? Alva! Eve?" Vanille yelled as the creature they were chasing finally broke through into the clearing. Dajh quickly pulled the frantic woman to the side, out of another line of bullets aimed at mass in front of them.

"Vanille! Dajh!" Hope called from the other side of camp. When Dajh looked to observe the situation his heart sank further.

"Here too?" He almost screamed, seeing Hope struggling with another, similar-looking creature. It was significantly smaller than the one they'd been chasing, with actual arms but tendrils that retracted into spikes along it's back.

"Yeah, as if we didn't already have enough trouble." Hope grunted, kicking the smaller creature away. It flew and slammed into a tree but used the tendrils on it's back to pull it up into the branches.

"Hey, I bet we found ours first!" Dajh retorted, slowly leading Vanille around to where Alva was, "Besides, it was running away!"

"You couldn't have scared it off in another direction?" Hope backed up towards the cadet, his eyes fixed on the smaller creature lurking in the trees.

"It's freaking eight feet tall, Estheim!" Dajh yelled, pointing at the larger creature, still stepping towards them, "Please, feel free to help demonstrate-"

"Allow me to help." A voice interrupted. Dajh felt something brush past him and charge at the creature. The cadet and First Lieutenant looked to see Eve jump at the creature, unfolding her Assault Lance and striking directly at the crystal. The creature managed to deflect the blow with a tendril. Eve used her momentum however and spun, crouching, delivering a slash to one of its legs. It buckled and was sent to one knee. Upon attempting to pierce it's back, the creature swiped out with a tendril again, managed to knock Eve backward, off balance.

"Dajh, I need you to help Eve keep the bigger one distracted while I take care of this one." Hope addressed the cadet firmly.

"M-Me?" Dajh stammered.

"No the other guy that decided to join the military to protect his friends and family." Hope hissed. The comment wasn't meant to insult but it did strike something in Dajh's chest that blocked out his hesitation and fired up his courage. He turned to Vanille.

"Stay here." He ordered quickly before revealing the old weapon in the simple holster on his back. He'd decided to take it out of it's brief retirement since he left Oerba Neo for Crystallinus. However, none of his superiors had really thought to arm him and he was always more safe than sorry. He hadn't used it for a while but the familiarity of the weapon hadn't been forgotten. He quickly flicked it outwards, unfolding it as he stepped towards the creature Eve was struggling with. Pulling his arm back, he aimed for red crystal that may as well have been a bulls-eye painted on the creature's chest.

"Hey ugly!" He called. Eve, having been thrown to the ground again, took pause to look over at him, "Uh- N-Not you, DeFluo." The creature seemed to pause too, tendrils frozen in a pointed position above the Lance Corporal, "You got a little something..." He swung his arm, letting the weapon in his hand fly, "Riiiiiight..." It curved, spinning, flying perfectly before actually managing to clip the red crystal in the creature's center, "...There." Dajh finished as the creature stumbled backwards as if knocked back by a forced five times it's size. The cadet caught the returning boomerang with ease, smiling at the pride of not having lost his touch completely.

"Dajh! Watch out!" Dajh was barely quick enough to see a tendril shoot towards him. A mere foot away from his head, it diverted ever so slightly to the right, barely missing his cheek. He felt the flakes of crystal against his skin briefly before it was retracted. Somehow, through his shock, she saw Eve now kneeling, Assault Lance in rifle mode, aimed at him. He blinked a couple of times, "You... You shot at me!" He pointed at the Lance Corporal, "I save your ass and you shoot at me?"

"I was returning the favor." The faint response gave the young Katzroy and odd sense of amusement. Only for a moment, however, for Eve suddenly found her feet swept out from under her. The creature had a tendril around one of her legs. It had moved quicker than she could react to shoot at it, launching her into another tree. She hit it hard, the tree letting out a loud, cracking noise. Seeing her crumple to the ground, Dajh's jaw tightened as he pulled back his arm again.

"Y'know, maybe you shoulda kept the favor!" He called, stepping towards the hulking creature.

Meanwhile. Hope was still trying to lure the smaller creature out of the trees. He decided to play it safe and remain as close as possible to Alva and Vanille. This meant he had to wait for the lurker to make it's move. Vanille's most recent scream to Dajh had thrown him off a little. He had lost sight of it among the leaves and branches. Searching frantically, his grip on his pistol tightened with each second.

"There!" Alva's voice caught his attention. With a brief glance at the young teen, he followed the direction she was pointing and squinted. He only caught it for a moment before it's movement fully revealed it's position. He followed it with his weapon, firing slow, calculated shots until one hit, sending to the ground. There was a rustling in the foliage near the clearing before it jumped out, arms ending in claws now, with the intention of sinking them into Hope's face.

The First Lieutenant stood his ground though. Holstering his pistol he ducked under the outstretched claws and grabbed the creature by the shoulders. Turning and flipping, he brought it to the ground, hard. The spikes on the creatures back immediately shot outwards, attempting to skewering him but he spun himself out of the way. Re-drawing his pistol, he shot the each of the creature's spikes at their base on its back. The two smallest ones detached completely while the other retracted quickly, limp and seemingly out of commission for the time being.

As he aimed another few shots into the creature's back, it moved—fast. To his horror, Hope realized Vanille and Alva were now closer to the creature than he was.

"Vanille-!"

"Watch out!" Vanille pulled Alva out of the way as it launched itself at them. Hope followed it's path with another round of bullets, hitting it enough number of times to throw it off, sending it rolling as it hit the ground. He darted forward, determined to keep himself between Vanille and Alva, and their nasty, nimble attacker.

"Alva!" Eve yelled from her position nearer the larger creature.

"Eve, stay focused-!" Hope tried to warn but it was too late. The distraction had left Eve open for too long. He almost winced as he noticed her take a blow to the side from her giant opponent, that sent her a good few feet through the air, "Damnit-!" Unfortunately, her being distracted proved to be his own distraction. He was too slow to pick up on the smaller creature's preparation to pounce. As it did so, he moved on reflex but it wasn't enough. It caught his shoulder, landing on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

"Hope!" Hope struggled against the hold but the creature was stronger than it looked. As he attempted to both break free and keep the creature's claws from reaching him, he saw a few flashes of light behind it. Suddenly, it was pulled from above him. Rolling onto his front, he saw Vanille struggling with her binding rod, the creature caught in it's wires, thrashing in a particularly violent manner. Silently thankful for the small break, Hope forced himself to his feet, knowing the binds probably wouldn't last long.

"Estheim!" The call from Dajh seemed to slow things down, "Any time now would be _great_!" Hope threw a glance over at the larger creature. His cussed under his breath at what he saw, "DeFluo's not quite understanding the _'distracting'_ part of your order..." The _'distraction'_ in question was currently wrapped in one of the creature's tendrils, her Assault Lance was protruding from it's side, now out of her reach. It's second tendril was posed above her head, preparing to strike. Dajh's attacks with his boomerang were proving useless against pulling it's attention away from the Lance Corporal.

A shriek from nearer his side of the clearing told him Vanille had lost her binding hold on the smaller creature. Unsurprisingly it prepared to lash out at the Oerban who'd dared to try and restrict it.

"Eve!" Alva screamed from her position behind a bag of salvaged equipment.

"Vanille!" Hope raised an aimed his pistol at the creature launching itself toward her. A series of shot pierced the air again and the creature's trajectory was abruptly changed. It flew sideways, towards Hope, rolling to a stop at his feet. He stared down at it, blinking, bewildered.

Now practically at his side, Dajh was experiencing the same disbelief as the larger creature hit the ground, it's grip on Eve slackening enough to drop the Lance Corporal to the ground. Now, along with the Eve's weapon, protruding out of the creature's torso was a bright red lance.

"Seriously Hope, we leave you alone with the kids for a few minutes and it all goes to hell?"

Fang? Fang was here, Hope acknowledged, recognizing the unmistakable accent. And if Fang was here, that meant- The thought was completed for him as he noticed the remaining spike on the smaller creature's back shoot out toward him. It was caught by a gloved hand abruptly before he could react and he suddenly found himself face to face with Lightning.

"Light..." Hope voiced dumbly as the Commander turned, unloading a full clip into the creature on the ground.

"They may be a different type," Lightning spoke, in her typical ice-cold battle tone, "But these things are Cie'th." Turning and delivering a swift kick to the creature's side, she send it into the air, "Do you remember any Cie'th we've encountered that hadn't required magic to defeat?" Before anyone could even fully process the question, Lightning crouched, opening a fist. There was a strange, high-pitched almost whistling sound as she channeled a ball of light in her hand before letting it fly at the creature. In a brilliant flash of light, the creature convulsed violently as the Ruin spell hit it. It then fell to the ground, limp, barely moving at all.

"Magic?" Hope breathed in disbelief. Whirling around, he saw Fang launch the giant Cie'th into the air. As it rose and fell, the flaky crystal layer around it had begun to shed. They fell like small glittering lights, fluttering about the clearing. Hope's eyes darted back downward to Fang who was now glowing a deep orange. A Saboteur's glow. She'd cast Deshell. Turning his gaze back at Lightning, he caught her finishing off the smaller Cie'th, plunging her gunblade through its back. He heard the shattering of the crystal that had adorned it's chest. It immediately ceased to move.

"That..." Dajh began as Lightning moved toward the remaining Cie'th, now struggling to get to it's feet, "...Was so..." The Commander ran at it again as Fang cast a Ruin spell at it, blindsiding it and keeping it from fully recovering, "...Cool."

Lightning reached the Cie'th just as Fang had finished casting Deprotect. Her gunblade pierced the crystal, cutting into it too cleanly to shatter it completely. Flipping away, Lightning channeled an Aerora spell, effectively propelling the staggered foe into the air. Fang had already launched herself upwards, meeting it midair. She grabbed the handle of the gunblade and forced it downwards in her signature power attack. As the creature was slammed into the ground, the others felt the power of the blow coupled with hearing the crashing and crunching of the crystal undoubtedly crushed under the force.

As the kick-up of dirt and crystal began to settle, the clearing grew silent. If only for a minute before Dajh spoke up first.

"Never mind," The cadet blurted out loudly, "That was cooler." It seemed Dajh had a knack for at least easing the atmosphere during tense or awkward situations. The others immediately began to breath easy again. Before any of them moved, however, there was a pained cough from the edge of the clearing near the larger fallen Cie'th.

"Eve?" Lightning spotted the Lance Corporal first, lying on her side, her arm falling in an unnatural position behind her, "E-"

"Eve!" Alva cried, already running towards her sister, her bright eyes flashing in the sunlight.

"Alva, wait-!" Lightning began to move to cut the teen off but was halted in her tracks as she noticed a yellow glow surround the girl. And the brightness of her eyes had nothing to do with the light of the environment—they were glowing. The glow grew brighter as she neared the fallen soldier. The others shared confused glances as they slowly gathered around Alva, now half-cradling Eve in her arms.

"Eve! Eve, stay awake!" The girl cried as the glow began to spread from her to her injured sister, "Eve please!" There was no audible response from the Lance Corporal but slowly, Eve raised a hand to touch Alva's cheek. As soon as she did so, the glow around the both of them rapidly grew to brightness where the others had to shield their eyes.

When the light finally subsided, the two DeFluo sisters had just about changed positions. Eve, despite still showing the various cuts and bruises sustained during the fight, was now sitting up with a seemingly unconscious Alva in her arms.

"Alva? Alva?" She gently shook the smaller girl. The others still remained silent as she looked up at them, her eyes full of fear, confusion and a fierceness that almost qualified the look to be a glare from Lightning, "What the hell did Alva just do?"

* * *

**A/N:**

Goodness gracious me that was a beast of a chapter to write =S  
Action scenes are take up so much... energy... brain power... that stuff I don't have a lot of =\

I wish I could give my Cie'th/creature things names. Writing with them would be a lot easier.  
Also, due to the previous chapter I've had to basically re-plan the next 5 or so chapters of the story so... forgive me if it seems a little shakey for now.  
It'll all come together eventually...

...as my plan TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD! _*cue evil laugh*_  
...or something.

Fang + Blazefire Saber + Highwind = Too much epic

There are also more random FLight doodlings in my dA gallery. Check them out for funz =3


	34. Cliffhanger

**Cliffhanger**

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Eve held up a hand to pause the conversation, "You were all Gran Pulse l'Cie before the crystallization of Cocoon." The others nodded, "You fought against your focuses—which was basically the destruction of the human race." Another nod, "You defied your focus which led you to a confrontation with Orphan... Barthandelus...? Or-?" Eve trailed off for a moment.

"Well, technically both-" Hope began.

"Orphandelus?" Dajh piped up, only to dismiss his statement with a weak wave at the looks he received from the others.

"You defeated Orphan but at the cost of Cocoon's destruction." Eve continued to recite, "But you two-" She motioned to Fang and Vanille, "-saved both worlds by turning into a legendary beast and initiating the crystallization of Cocoon." An affirmative nod from the two Oerbans.

"That's pretty much how it goes." Vanille said with a grin that only caused the Lance Corporal to raise her eyebrow.

"Well, as illuminating as the history lesson is," Eve's gaze shifted to Lightning, "It still doesn't explain what's happening with Alva." The others looked amongst each other, bewildered. The young soldier had a point. They had explained the story of how they got _their_ powers, while enlightening, it hadn't shed any more light on Alva's.

"There's also the fact that you two seem to have regained your l'Cie powers," Hope motioned towards Lightning and Fang, "Which... should really be impossible—with the the fal'Cie being extinct."

"Estheim, we've just spend the last day or so walking through rips in time." Dajh spoke up again. The First Lieutenant's jaw tightened. Dajh was right. At this point, the line between impossible and possible, believable and not, was pretty much non-existent.

"The Pulse-shifts." Lightning stated, beginning to pace as she always did while deep in thought, "When Fang and I came out of Titan's memory, we were attacked by a Cie'th, similar to the large, hulking one at camp."

"_Someone_ got careless-"

"Someone _else_ was getting in my way." Lightning snapped—all too quickly. The two women caught each others' gaze but almost immediately looked away.

"She got caught-"

"Saving her ass." Lightning mumbled before clearing her throat, "I was put in a compromising position-"

"In which _I_ proceeded to save _her_ ass." Fang interrupted again, "With a Ruin spell." She motioned over her shoulder at the pinkette, "Once she got free, she hit the poor sod with a Thundaga so intense you could probably fit what was left of it, into a teacup."

"Is it me or are they talking about each other like the other isn't here?" Dajh whispered to Vanille who responded with a bemused nod.

"Actually, I think they're arguing with each other... without... really arguing _with_ each other."

"Now _that_ is highly impressive."

If either of the two women in question had heard the small exchange, they chose to ignore it—in similar fashion to each others presence.

"It's almost like when the Pulse-shifts bring us back, our bodies _'remember'_ how to use the magic the fal'Cie gave us." Lightning kept the conversation on topic.

"But we don't have it anymore." Hope pointed out.

"Well, what if... " Lightning began to theorize, "What if the power didn't disappear with the fal'Cie? What if it just locked itself away?" Hope looked thoughtful but Lightning saw the doubt on his face, "Think about it, we're all still faster and stronger than regular humans, we heal just a little faster, age slightly slower—You and Dajh may have had your growth spurt but rest of us barely looks like we've aged a year, let alone a decade."

"It's a little far-fetched... but considering the circumstances, it's not entirely impossible." Hope finally spoke, "Regardless of the reason, I think it can be agreed that the Pulse-shifts play a major part in it."

"Again, enlightening, but it still doesn't explain Alva's powers." Eve spoke up, sighing, "Or why she's sick." Her voice was now laced in a subtle tone of irritation, masked only by growing concern of her sister's condition. Alva was asleep, lying nearer the fire between Eve and Vanille. Occasionally the girl would let out a small whimper but would not open her eyes, even when they'd tried to wake her to give her more of the Dissidium Elixir.

"She was wounded by the new type of Cie'th, maybe it has something to do with the infection?" Lightning thought aloud.

"Most likely-" Hope began to agree but before either of them could continue the discussion, Eve stood up, sighing heavily once more.

"Eve?" Vanille asked softly, not unaware of the Lance Corporal's frustration.

"Everything is speculation until we reach Titan's throne, yes?"

"Pretty much." Hope answered Eve's question after a long silence.

"And even then, there's no telling what we find there, right?"

"Right." The First Lieutenant continued to answer, realizing the subtle point Eve was getting at. With a nod, the Lance Corporal turned and shared a short, understanding look with Vanille before moving away from the group.

"Eve?" Lightning questioned.

"It's been a long day, we should probably rest for tomorrow." The response was cold. And everyone but the Commander would have thought it were a tone only Lightning could pull off, "I'll check the perimeter and take first watch."

"E-" Lightning began again but stopped as Fang brushed past her to follow the young soldier. The pinkette hesitated but eventually opened her mouth to stop the Oerban. She was cut off again, this time by Vanille.

"Light, could you help me move Alva over to the bedrolls?" Upon meeting the bright green eyes that told her the question was more of a demand, the commander felt herself unable to dismiss it. With a last look over at the retreating, darker-haired Oerban, Lightning proceeded to fulfill Vanille's request.

As she did so, she continued to struggle with the thoughts of Fang and Eve's inevitable confrontation. Though the result of that was the reminder of her own confrontation with Fang. She still hadn't figured out the reason behind her almost brutally honest admission. Granted she hadn't had a lot of time to contemplate it, with the world going to hell and everything. But the thought was still there, begging for attention. Trying to focus on the bigger picture, Lightning forced herself to focus on the task of helping Vanille with Alva.

The complete opposite could be said of Fang as she continued further away from the campsite. Like Lightning, she couldn't get their confrontation out of her mind. However, _unlike_ the CRYSIS Commander, she made no effort to put aside the issue and focus on their 'investigation'. Lightning's out-of-the-blue confession bothered her; It shocked her; took her completely off guard; blindsided her, feeling like a slap to face. When the words would usually have prompted joy or happiness, they only proved to irk Fang.

_'Loved'_ Lightning had used the word _'loved'. _Past tense. It was probably what bothered Fang the most. All the delight that should have come with the declaration was destroyed by the insinuation that it no longer existed. Lightning loved her no longer. She'd missed the chance to be loved. Lightning loved her... The train of thought slowed as her movement did. She'd finally reached the edge of the tree line of the small forest they'd been walking though. She found herself near a wide cliff, with a view she'd be impressed by were she paying attention.

"What, you don't think I can handle watch?" The interrupting voice quickly snapped Fang out of her semi-daze and reminded her of what she was doing there. Eve stood further along the cliff, staring at her with a subtle, suspicious look. Just being around the young soldier was enough to tighten Fang's jaw and clench her fists. This... stranger with her face. The young woman who Lightning treated with such delicacy—such familiarity. Attention that was meant for her. The irrational part of her brain entertained the thoughts of jealousy. Was this her replacement? This... kid?

"Who are you?"

"Excuse me-"

"You heard me." Fang demanded, rapidly losing control of reason, "Who _are_ you? Where did you even _come_ from? And why do you look like..." The warrior paused for a brief moment before motioning toward herself—almost frantically, "Me."

"Look, I don't know anything _about _you," Eve responded, equally frustration, "I didn't _choose_ this face, alright?"

"And your relationship with Light?" Fang pushed. Whatever she felt about Lightning and however she would deal with Lightning's feelings, she was sure of one thing: the relationship—whatever it was...is... would be—with Lightning, it was one of a kind, unique, hers. And Fang protected what was hers.

"She's my _Commanding Officer_! Look, I don't know what your issue with me is-" Eve cut herself off, abruptly and pulled the Assault Lance from across her back and unfolded it into mode-two, "Y'know what? I get the feeling nothing I'd say would be the right answer to those questions so why don't we stop beating around the bush and get this over with?" Upon seeing the Lance Corporal draw her weapon, Fang broke into a challenging grin.

"You sure you wanna do this, kid?" Fang taunted, "Your Commanding Officer isn't around to protect you."

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Eve shot back as they began circling each other, "Make sure not to lose that-" She added, motioning to the lance in Fang's hands, "-you'll probably need it."

"Really? Because if I remember correctly, one doesn't usually need to be armed to knock you on your ass." Fang managed to keep her growing rage in check while she quipped once more. She smirked as the young soldier scowled before lunging at her, weapon first. Fang let a scoff escape before she swung her own lance. As soon as they made contact both women were hit by a shock wave that sent both of them flying into darkness.

_Such Irony. That my legacy would be born from humanity._

_The trial of my Faultwarrens have failed against the fal'Cie-touched humans. To defeat even Atticus? It sickens me how impressed I am._

_Regardless, my creations are complete. Taking only the strengths, and none of weaknesses of the champions of the Faultwarrens, my afterlife is sealed._

_One to continue my duties, to inherit my throne; the other to protect and keep watch as they blossom. The day they shed their humanity and fulfill their destinies shall be glorious. _

_One fal'Cie. One guardian. My one and only wish complete._

"TITAN!" Eve screamed her eyes shot open as she was returned to the present. The present where the ground was now shaking, in the middle a tremor. She stumbled, trying to regain her bearings. A few feet away, Fang was doing the same, equally staggered. As their eyes met, a few more pieces to the puzzle began to fall into place.

"Alva." Eve whispered as the ground beneath her feet began to crack. Fang watched, still stunned, as a whole chunk of the cliff began to crumble away. Eve didn't react fast enough and by the time she did, all she could reach was an upturned root at the edge of where the ground had broken away and fallen the few hundred feet into the darkness below.

For all the thoughts that were racing through the Oerban's mind, one still remained clear: Eve was a threat. Fang remained frozen as the other woman struggled to pull herself up, her only grip inching out of her grasp. But by the time the warrior's higher thought processes kicked in and caused her to jump towards Eve's slipping hand, the root keeping the young soldier from falling snapped. And Fang was surprised to feel horror as she watched the Lance Corporal fall.

* * *

A/N:

DUN x 3  
Not as long as I thought it would be but still hard as balls to write =[  
I know, the title is lame, lemme alone. I update for YOU =\

My dA account got hacked.  
That's always fun...


	35. The Calm Before

**The Calm Before**

* * *

"I'm _telling _you! Something's different!"

"And _I'm_ telling you, it's not!" Dajh shot a hissed whisper back at Vanille. The two youngest members of the group (with the exception of Alva and not taking into account the hundreds of years of crystal sleep Vanille had) were presently discussing the behavior of the two women that were at the front of the group as they made their way across the Steppe. They both seemed to be leading but remained at least half a dozen feet from one another.

"Look, I've known Lightning for ten years-"

"And I've known Fang my whole life, and it's not like Light's a complete stranger to me." Vanille motioned to the Commander and warrior ahead of them, "Something is wrong."

"But I was told it was always like this, they'd fight and bicker, sometimes ignore each other"

"But that's the thing," Vanille cut the cadet off, "Light would be the one doing the ignoring. Right now it's Fang that's acting like she doesn't want to talk to Light."

"Okay, so maybe she doesn't want to talk to Light?" Dajh suggested with a shrug. At the sound of silence, he paused an looked to see Vanille had stopped walking and was looking at him in total incredulity, "Wh-What?"

"Fang _always_ wants to talk to Light." She stated matter-of-factly before continuing to walk. Dajh's brow furrowed at the tone of her voice—a tone that insinuated the fact was as obvious as it was irrefutable. He also noticed that there was no jealousy apparent in her statement. In fact, there seemed to be even more joy in the smaller Oerban's expressions when she talked about both Fang and Light. Apart from their amusing quips between one another, Dajh couldn't quite understand why.

"Of course, there's Eve." Vanille added quietly, thoughtful. Dajh glanced at the Oerban, who was now looking over her shoulder. He followed her gaze, looking to see the Lance Corporal in question, guiding Alva along. He thought back to the night before in the clearing.

_:::_

"_Okay... Titan really needs to learn how to whisper his cryptic message without breaking my eardrums." Dajh, along with the rest of the expedition back at camp were recovering from the latest Pulse-shift. They'd felt the tremor as well but it cease quickly after._

"_Is everyone alright?" Hope asked, dusting himself off, having fallen to his knees coming out of the Pulse-shift. Dajh and Vanille voice their affirmatives but Lightning remained silent. Her eyes on Alva, still asleep on the bedrolls. Hope followed her gaze as he walked over to the other soldier. The pinkette had apparently assumed the same thing he had. The legacy Titan spoke of was closer to them than they'd thought._

"_Fang!" Vanille's voice knocked both Officers out of their thoughts, "Fang and Eve!" _

"_Everybody stay here," Lightning motioned between the other members of the group, already making her way across the clearing in the direction the two darker-haired women had gone off in, "I'll go see if..." The pinkette trailed off when out of the small break in the foliage came Fang. The two stared at one another for a few moments before the pinkette looked away, backing up as the warrior moved in towards the others._

"_Fang! You're alright!" Vanille bounded over, throwing herself at the taller Oerban who returned the embrace amused, without hesitation. There was visible relief in the others but it wasn't long before the concern returned—most quickly to Lightning._

"_And Eve?" She was almost unprepared for the glare she received from Fang but she chose to ignore it. _

"_Oh, I'm fine Sunshine," Fang responded in a grumbled, "Thanks for asking."_

"_It'd take more than a bad memory and a little shaky ground to get you, Fang." Lightning retorted before she could help herself. She hadn't meant to sound insensitive but what was happening, that involved both Eve and Alva—now, even more so than before—was bigger than whatever was currently between herself and Fang. Her gaze lingering on the Oerban for longer than she intended, Lightning noticed Fang looked far too disheveled for the mildness of the tremor they'd experienced. Perhaps it was worse in the area Fang had been in. Or perhaps the tremor had nothing to do with it. Lightning couldn't help but deem the latter explanation as the more likely._

"_Fang, where's Eve?" Lightning repeated the question, this time through a frown. The Oerban's lack of an answer wasn't helping ease her suspicion, "Fang-"_

"_Hey! Eve!" Dajh exclaimed, raising his arms, looking past the Commander in the direction Fang had come from. The pinkette turned to see Eve push past a few low branches and step into the clearing. She looked equally, if not more tousled, than Fang, but otherwise unharmed. Lightning looked between Fang and Eve, the glance between the two of them not escaping her notice._

"_What happened?" Neither woman seemed keen on answering the Commander's question. Lightning, aware of Fang's stubbornness, turned to the Lance Corporal, "Eve?" The younger soldier's gaze shifted from Fang to Lightning but still, she remained quiet. Lightning wasn't sure if it were because she didn't want to speak, or didn't quite know how to begin, "Eve, what happe-"_

"_The path we took led to a cliff." Fang stepped in, "The tremor knocked over half of it off." Her eyes met Eve's for a brief moment before she turned back towards Lightning, shrugging, "We barely kept from falling to our untimely deaths." The Commander didn't quite buy the explanation. Looking over at the Lance Corporal, she raised an eyebrow, hoping for the truth._

"_Fang saved me." Came a response from Eve, finally, "She saved both of us." She looked away to hide what Lightning assumed was bruised pride._

"_Eve?" Alva mumbled from Vanille's arms. The smaller Oerban had moved to protect the youngest of the group during the tremor._

"_Alva." As Eve rushed to her sister's side, Lightning accepted the conversation as over. For now._

_:::_

"Ah yes, Eve." Dajh mumbled in agreement to Vanille's statement. He turned his eyes back ahead. Not only had he—like everyone else that had eyes—noticed the eerie physical similarities she shared with Fang, He was also one of the few that realized the Eve's mannerisms were very much akin to Lightning's. Further more, he was one of the fewer that were aware of the effect the Crystallinus native had on Fang and Lightning—more specifically, their relationship.

"You you think it's true?"

"Hmm?" Dajh snapped out of his thoughts, "Do I think what's true?"

"Y'know, what pretty much all the others are thinking but aren't really talking about." Vanille explained in an amused tone that only she could pull of while being completely serious, "About the heir to Titan's throne and the guardian that protects them."

"...What about them?"

"You have got to be the most clueless observant person I've ever met." Vanille's statement brought Dajh's gaze back to her. He was met with a look of quiet curiosity. Paired with what she'd just said, it irked him.

"What? Should _you_ really be saying that?" Dajh raised an eyebrow at the Oerban, "Miss distract-Light-at-just-the-right-moment-to-prevent-more-drama?"

"Well, at least for me it's on purpose..." Vanille continued to tease, giggling at the young Katzroy's face.

"And how would you know I'm not doing it on purpose when I actually am doing it... on... purpose?" Dajh formed a sentence that—thinking back on it—caused him to kick himself mentally for going too over-the-top for it to be taken seriously. And it wasn't, as Vanille continued to giggle at the question.

"Well, it's just... the way you react to certain things."

"Oh, great," Dajh mumbed, "and here I was worried you'd be vague."

"I never said it was a bad thing." Vanille pat the cadet's shoulder as the two of them continued walking.

"I understand what you're getting at though." Dajh continued the conversation with a more serious tone, "I never had anything to do with Titan and even I can connect the dots." He threw another glance over his shoulder once more, "All two of them."

"What I don't understand is," Vanille started, "Though it's not the same as ours, Alva's shown some kind of magical power. But Eve hasn't."

"Well... maybe she hasn't awakened yet." Dajh suggested, "Or bloomed... I think was the word Titan used?"

"Blossom." Vanille corrected, "And Maybe. But If they really are who we think they are, you'd think they'd bloom at the same time—being cut from the same cloth, so to speak."

"Speaking of cutting... from... cloth-" Dajh shook his head at the play-on-words-gone-bad, "Eve has to be involved, her similarities to Fang and Light are way too many in number for it to be a coincidence."

Vanille had to agree with the cadet. Eve had more than just Fang's face. Ever since they'd left Crystallinus, she'd noticed little things the Lance Corporal would do that she'd only ever seen either Fang or Lightning do. A certain way she fought, or a particular way she talked. It really was like all Titan did was combine the warrior and soldier into one. She giggled quietly at the thought. If it were ever wondered

"So if Eve was created using Fang and Light, why doesn't she have their powers?" Dajh questioned, "I mean, those two still the only ones who seem to be able to use their abilities now." The boy motioned to the two in question, "It kinda insinuates they're powers are the strongest." Vanille turned quiet, contemplating his question, "Maybe Alva got the powers and Eve got the... personality?"

"Not likely," Vanille shook her head, "Both of them were incredibly powerful offensively, neither of their strengths were healing—which I assume is what Alva displayed last night."

"What about Hope?" Dajh offered, "Or you even? You were both better than the others with the healing spells—Alva even has the light hair."

"No, I don't think so, actually." Vanille stated, "I thought about it, her having a similar hair-color to Hope but her hair is almost white, rather than silver-gray like his. And she looks nothing like any of us." The young Oerban paused, "Yet seems just as familiar..."

"Well maybe Titan just messed up?" Dajh was getting a slight headache from their attempts at making sense of everything, "What?" He asked in response to another look of disappointment from Vanille.

"We're talking about Titan! Keeper of Gran Pulse? Oldest and wisest of the Gran Pulse fal'Cie? There's a reason why it's called Titan's throne!" Dajh found himself side-stepping to avoid the flailing arms that accompanied the small rant, "With that much power, that much responsibility and wisdom you really think he could've just... messed up?"

"So he just—with all his wisdom and... knowledge and stuff—predicts that the fal'Cie will eventually disappear and isn't particularly fond of the idea—understandably so, of course—so he comes up with a plan involving pitting other 'lower' beings against each other in a gauntlet to determine the strongest. And from them, take their strengths, combine them with his own mojo to... create a mini-him—along with a babysitter—to take over his spot as the Keeper of Gran Pulse." The cadet took a breath, "And his... replacements just happened to have been humans and come to be citizens of Crystallinus and somehow linked to CRYSIS—therefore to Light. And CRYSIS being linked to the Crystal Pillar—therefore to Fang. Furthermore both Lightning and Fang having been led back to the Faultwarrens, therefore bringing both Eve and Alva back as well, returning the heir to the throne and fulfills Titan's legacy and returns Gran Pulse to the way it was."

Slightly out of breath, Dajh finished his piece, staring at Vanille in disbelief of his own words. The Oerban just raised an eyebrow, her lips forming a smirk. Blinking, Dajh took a moment to process his brief rant. Of course, it did made sense—albeit massively convoluted. Titan was the Keeper of Gran Pulse, he controlled not only the life on the world; he controlled the life _of _the world. With him gone, Gran Pulse was left to wither away. It's why everything was literally falling apart. It's why it started speeding up after Fang and Vanille had awakened. The Crystal Pillar—the last remaining source of active magic—had acted as a temporary solution to Titan's absence. And when it shattered, it enabled for world to continue to decay.

Dajh, realizing the accuracy of his rant, looked up at Fang and Light, then back over his shoulder at Eve and Alva before returning his gaze to Vanille. The young Oerban was just grinning with a look of satisfaction on her face. Coming to another realization, Dajh recalled the earlier conversation pertaining to his reaction to certain things.

"It's things like that, isn't it?"

* * *

**A/N:**

Yes, yes, I know. I finally update after god-knows-how-long and it's with this boring bleghasdguegh =\  
Been busy. And stressed. Should really get around to that kite-flying...  
It'll get better though. Soon. Hopefully. No, it will.

Thanks for being patient.  
I will not blame you should you wish to throw tomatoes at me.  
I like tomatoes. They're yummy.

Also, art for chapter 33 is floating around my dA gallery.


	36. Tempest Rising Part I

**Tempest Rising Part I**

* * *

It was late in the afternoon by the time the group reached the tight passage through the cliffs that would eventually lead them across a small plateau and through a large set of ruins. Reaching the flat, open area, the expedition decided to take a break. Vanille and Eve tended to Alva whose condition no longer seemed to be held at bay by the Dissidium Elixir. Hope continued to study the Pulse-shifts they'd experienced, having recorded data using some of the equipment they'd salvaged. And Dajh busied himself with giving his foot a massage.

Lightning had decided to at least scout the passage continuing through the mountains towards the ruins that came before Truthseeker's Rise. She almost didn't notice Fang follow her. She'd been well aware of the awkward distance that'd been between them since reaching the Steppe. More specifically since she'd confessed ten years worth of feeling on a whim after almost being crushed by the world they'd been so desperately trying to save up until now.

"Looks like the land hasn't shifted too much in a decade." Lightning spoke aloud—still not quite directly at Fang, "We could probably use the original passageway to the ruins."

"Right." Came a distracted mumble of an answer. Lightning, finally looking directly at Fang for the first time in hours, raised an eyebrow at the Oerban. The darker-haired woman cleared wanted—needed—to say something but was just as clearly struggling with how to. Lightning knew the reason why and accepted that it was probably her fault. But she'd said anything and everything she'd needed to say to Fang—what was important anyway. It was up to Fang to continue the conversation.

"The ruins will provide better cover during dark." Lightning said as she moved past the warrior, back towards the rest of the group, "We'll rest another few minutes then head through-" She was stopped both mid-sentence and mid-step as she felt Fang grab her arm. Slowly, the pinkette's gaze dropped to glance at the hand, then up into forest green eyes. As soon as Fang had grabbed her, she released her grip.

"We need to finish our conversation." Fang finally managed to get out, still avoiding Lightning's gaze. If the topic weren't so serious, Lightning could probably have cracked a smile. But she didn't. She remained stern, serious, completely focused on the Oerban in front of her.

"Do we now?"

"Hell bloody yes we do!" Fang snapped a little too quickly, too loudly.

"I've said all I had to say Fang." The pinkette stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "Was there something you had to add?"

"Wh- You... I..." Lightning still found herself both shocked and amused at the sight of Fang struggling for words; her suave, flirtatious charm swiped out from under her. But the soldier didn't really mean to tease. She wanted as much as Fang to discuss whatever came next. But she also wanted Fang to have thought about it enough to be ready to actually have a proper conversation about it. It took herself years to sort out her feelings—and this was without having been confessed to, out of nowhere.

"Well, I'm ready whenever you are-" Once again, Lightning was prevented from leaving as the Oerban stepped in front of her.

"You say that as you walk away. Again."

"Talking involves speaking more than disjointed words, Fang." Lightning sighed in mild exasperation, "Y'know... meaning you use actual sentences?"

"Well if you'd let me finish-"

"You'd say what, Fang?" Lightning—reminded once more of Fang's younger, less experienced logic—felt a spark of irritation begin to flare up, "Words of rejection-?"

"Not... exactly-"

"What then?" Lightning urged, her control slipping slightly, "Words of acceptance?" Not receiving an immediate answer from the Oerban, Lightning felt a flicker of something in her chest, "Could you say you loved me too? Right now?" The pinkette stepped towards Fang, causing the warrior to back up against the rock face behind her, "C'mon, all that flirting and none of it had any seriousness to it?" Lightning practically had Fang pinned—literally—as she continued to push.

"If you would give me me time to-"

"I'm not the one rushing here, Fang." Lightning explained, "Nor am I running away from or avoiding you. Giving you time is exactly what I'm doing." The pinkette's expression softened ever so slightly, "Why can't you see that?" Fang could do little more than swallow the giant lump that had formed in her throat. Cerulean blue pierced through forest green as the silence became deafening. And for a moment, Lightning could have sworn the distance between them was continuing to close.

"Hey, Ligh-oh... uh..."

The two women jumped apart at the sound of Dajh's voice. The dual sighs the two of them let out were both a mixture of relief and annoyance.

"I just interrupted an important moment, didn't I?" The question didn't need an answer. And no answer was given. There was just silence. Awkward silence, "Ah... good." Dajh eventually cleared his throat, "Because that would've been awkward-"

"What is it, Dajh?" Lightning asked, recovering first. She looked to see the cadet holding out a few power cells. She shifted her gaze to her gauntlet as Dajh came over and turned her wrist. As he popped open the cover near the bottom, the pinkette saw the two cells inside were flickering dimly, "Already?"

"Yeah, I dunno." Dajh quickly began the exchange of cells, adjusting certain wires as he did so, "Something interfering with the energy transfer. The cells are burning out faster and faster."

"As we get closer to the Faultwarrens." Fang piped up, finally recovering from the one-on-one talk with Lightning.

"Yeah," Dajh scoffed, "Coincidence? I think not."

"Did you check Hope and Eve's?" She asked, referring to the other soldiers' devices.

"Yeah, I got Hope's just before... wait, Eve's?" Dajh looked at the pinkette, confused. Lightning didn't look any more enlightened,

"Eve's T-FA? It runs the same way as mine and Hope's."

"I didn't give her any cells. Her equipment seemed to work fine without them, anyway." The cadet stated slowly, shaking his head, "I assumed because you kept saying it was some sort of prototype that it ran differently, didn't need the same kind of power." Lightning remained silent. Yes, Eve's weapon was one of the newest developed by CRYSIS but it ran exactly the same as the others—hers included, "So... somehow Eve is... powering her equipment herself?" Dajh's hypothesis broke Lightning's train of thought.

"It's possible. The weapons use Crystal Force—remnants of fal'Cie magic." the Commander sighed, "If Eve is somehow related to Titan—as the Pulse-shifts suggest—it makes sense that the equipment would respond to her." There was a pause before Lightning began shaking her head, "But she hasn't shown any signs of possessing magic, it's all been Alva." The pinkette found herself looking towards Fang but the Oerban was still avoiding her gaze. Something Lightning had learned Fang did when she was nervous, or hiding something, or both.

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me." Dajh's all but whined.

"What?" Both Fang and Lightning turned to the cadet, who merely pointed in the direction he was facing.

"That." As the two women looked, they were met with a blast that was strong enough to stagger them. It forced their eyes closed and, when they'd opened again, had changed their surroundings. Even ground, Gran Pulsian markings etched into it. Smooth-cut stone to form the wall surrounding the area. The stronger wisps of air confirming they were no longer on a small mountain plateau, but somewhere fal'Cie-made, high in the air.

"Taejin's Tower." Lightning heard Fang mutter what she was thinking. She only barely noticed the others in the party across the platform before there was a huge crash to the side. As the pinkette recalled the memory of the area, she cursed.

"This is a problem."

"What?" Dajh asked, almost frantically at the disturbed tone of Lightning's voice and the equally distressed look on Fang's face. Before he could repeat the question a loud blast of cracking stone caused all three to jump.

"That." Fang answered the question, motioning at the source of the destruction. Dajh found himself pulled away by Lightning before he could look. The three began running along the wall towards the other half of the group. Regaining control of his legs, Dajh finally looked towards what Fang had pointed out. Floating just above the platform, a massive figure of a serpentine-looking demon sitting on a throne was channeling a firestorm.

"That is a big damn problem!" Dajh yelled as he turned to re-focus on running. As the three of them reached the others, who'd been unable to move much with a weakened Alva, the firestorm was released. As the group braced themselves as it flew towards them, the fact that they were in a memory did not make it any less intimidating. The size, the intensity, the heat-

As the flames reached them, they seemed to split, part and flow around the group. As Lightning looked closer, she saw the flickering gold shimmer of a Shellra spell. She also saw Hope standing up front, hand outstretched, maintaining the protective barrier. But eventually the flames began to penetrate it. Hope seemed to be struggling enough trying to keep the spell stable, let alone powerful enough to withstand the firestorm.

Before Lightning could think of a plan B if—when—the Shellra spell broke, she felt Fang brush past her, flipping her lance in hand.

"Fang- What are you-?"

"Vanille." The warrior said in a resolute voice that carried over the fiery wind. Lightning turned to see the smaller Oerban whimper slightly before she raised a hand toward the front. A dull orange glow surrounded Vanille and from out of her hand flew a stream of what looked like black smoke. Lightning watched It float forward, between the members of the group.

"Fogga..." The pinkette said under her breath as the inky stream suddenly spread, filling the inside of the Shellra spell with a haze. Other than limiting the visibility, the Fogga spell didn't effect the group. It did, however, nullify the flames that were eating their way through Hope's Shellra.

"Light!" Fang's voice caught the Commander's attention. Lightning looked to see Fang glowing yellow and—if she remember correctly—had adopted a Fringeward stance. She met dark green eyes filled with fire as real as the flames licked at her skin. It told Lightning the time for thinking was long gone.

Quickly unfolding her gunblade the soldier whirled around, sweeping her gunblade in a Blitz clearing away both the Fogga spell that would only hinder what she was about to do. As the Fog dissipated, the flames began to creep forward again. Hope's Shellra had all but dissolved, leaving Fang to take the damage the firestorm would inflict on the group, if Lightning didn't act fast.

Channeling the Blizzaga spell in her free hand, the pinkette let it loose, the chilling winds colliding with the fire that surrounded them. The Blizzaga held the flames off for long enough for the group to recover but they still proved to be stronger—it was a fal'Cie's firestorm after all. The relieving gusts of cold air soon completely disappeared and the intense heat began to surround them again. It was whipping at their faces, invading their lungs.

As her vision blurred, Lightning saw the outline of the Sentinel still standing at the front of the group. She wasn't sure if it were just the proximity of the flames that made it look like it or if Fang was actually on fire. Lightning attempted to call to the Oerban as she reached for her, but it felt as if her throat was on fire. Losing her footing, she eventually managed to grasp Fang's shoulder and as she did so, it felt as if something pulled the both of them backward.

Taking in a gulp of clear, cool air, Lightning found herself—along with the others—back on the plateau. There was strained breathing and pained coughs from the entire party as they recovered from the Pulse-shift.

"Fang!" Vanille cried, running over to the Oerban's side. Lightning's eye widened as she saw the burns on Fang's arm. They were quickly fading as Vanille had begun healing them but the poorly-hidden pained looks on Fang's face told Lightning that the Oerban had most certainly did more than just 'remember' Dahaka's wrath.

"Alright," Hope had made his way over, "That was a little too intense."

"You're telling me." Fang muttered through a pained, sharp intake of air as Vanille finished healing her burns.

"Why... is Fang smoking?" Dajh's voice caught the attention of the three crowded around the warrior.

"You know what this means?" Lightning asked Hope quietly. The First Lieutenant hesitated before nodding, sighing heavily.

"Know what, what means?" Came another question from the cadet. Apparently not quietly enough, "Why it still feels like we've just been barbequed alive?" Dajh motioned to the burned ends of his jacket, "Even after the memory of it has passed?" There was silence as the Hope and Lightning glanced at one another again.

"It means as we get closer to the Faultwarrens..." Hope began, rubbing the back of his neck, "...the more intense the Pulse-shifts. Like how we're able to use magic again." Hope continued to explain, "What happens to us in the memories, effects us in the present as well. It means that time lines are beginning to overlap-"

"Which means we're running out of time." Eve spoke up. The group looked towards the Lance Corporal, cradling a shaken Alva in her arms. Lightning noticed Eve seemed distracted. The Lance Corporal seemed to be listening for something, "We should get to the ruins."

"Of course, because we'd never get a break." Dajh threw his hands in the air in exasperation, "If it's not being run over by a fal'Cie, it's being burned alive by one; or swallowed by the ground; or being attacked by Cie'th!" His voice had grown louder as his rant had run on. The sound echoed around the clearing before fading into silence. Almost silence. There was the faint sound of cracking rock from above them. The group looked up at the rock wall

Lightning noticed it first. The rock was moving. No, it wasn't the rock. A piercing screech filled the air as the group scrambled away from the side of the mountain. As they did, the entity on the wall became clearer. It shifted to reveal a crimson crystal at it's center, and tattered wings jutting from it's back. None of the party moved as another, similarly-winged creature appeared from a large crack in the rock wall near the first. A second screech was followed by a third from a creature circling overhead.

"You just _had_ to say it, didn't you?" Vanille whispered to Dajh, who just gave her a look.

"Run." Lightning said in almost a whisper but was heard by every member in the group, "Now."

All seven of them turned and made a break for the passage towards the ruins as the sounds of flapping wings, falling rock and pained screeches filled the air behind them.

* * *

**A/N:**

Wow. An update. Would ya look at that?  
Hopefully better than the previous update...  
...which apparently sucked. _*shrug*  
_Amusing, since I liked it better than this one.

I really hope the slow updates aren't due to losing interest.  
Because I really want to break the habit I have of not finishing what I start...  
Anyhow. There you go.


	37. Tempest Rising Part II

**Tempest Rising Part II**

* * *

"Go! Go! Go! Go!" Hope yelled over the screeches from the winged Cie'th as the group scrambled through the constricting rock passage. The Cei'th above had to resort to diving and clawing at them through the narrow opening above since they were still too large to fully fit in the small space to reach them.

"Move!" Lightning added from the head of the group. She knew while the passage kept the Cie'th from really getting to them, they had to keep moving. If the Cie'th really were like the ones they'd encountered a decade ago, they wouldn't stop attacking until they either got what they wanted or were killed. The ruins at the other end of the walled path would provide cover for both defense and to mount a counter attack.

"Here, Eve, let me take Alva." Hope paused briefly to motion toward the Eve. She had been running with her sister on her back since it was faster than having a weakened Alva run on her own. The Lance Corporal hesitated for a second, "Your weapon is more powerful than mine, we could use it for cover fire when we make a break for the ruins." After another second of hesitation. Eve placed Alva in Hopes arms and drew the Assault-Lance.

"C'mon! We have to keep moving!" Lightning urged, reaching the edge of the rock passage. She breathed a sigh of relief, scanning the next area, seeing that the ruins still remained. There was plenty of cover provided by half-standing buildings and large fallen trees. Completing her quick scan of the area, she saw the nearest cover was a toppled building of some sort about two dozen feet away. She couldn't tell if there were a safe path forward from her chosen first point of cover; vegetation and shifts in the ground had turned the ruins into more of a maze than anything else. She decided they'd deal with it when the time came.

"Alright, Eve and I will provide cover fire, Dajh will assist."

"I will?" Dajh all but squeaked as the Commander drew her gunblade and fired off a few shots into one of the winged Cie'th, repelling it as it descended to claw at her through the small opening, "I mean, I will."

"There's probably a good chance the Cie'th are drawn to Titan's energy, which means Alva is most likely their target." The pinkette assumed, "We need to keep her under cover as much as possible—whether it be using the ruins or using cover-fire. That collapsed building." Lightning pointed to the target, but kept her eye on the Cie'th in the sky, "Fang, you'll lead when I say. Dajh, you stay with Hope and Alva, Vanille, you stick close behind them. I'll provide cover from here."

"What about Eve?" Vanille asked. All eyes turned to the Lance Corporal in question.

"Eve, I need you to get to the building first-" Lightning explained quickly.

"Alone?" Fang suddenly cut in, earning her slightly quizzical glances from the others. All but Eve.

"We can cover better with two points, than we can with one," Lightning continued after the brief pause, "It'll be easier for Eve to provide cover-fire from the building, this is too tight a space." The pinkette looked over at Eve who was staring at Alva, a concerned look on her face. The Lance Corporal obviously wasn't comfortable leaving her sister's side.

"Hope, let me carry Alva." Fang spoke up, "Use your pistol to help with the cover-fire as we run." She motioned for the girl in Hope's arms, "Another... cover point." She added, pointedly. Hope hesitated, looking over at Lightning who nodded in approval to the suggestion. As Fang took Alva from Hope, Lightning had just begun to notice the slightly strange behavior Fang was showing around Eve. However, another screech pulled her from thinking too hard on it.

"Eve?" Lightning turned back to the Lance Corporal whose eyes were still on her sister. Eventually the young soldier's gaze lifted to meet Fang's.

"Put your toy away and concentrate on running." The warrior said in a firm voice, "This plan won't work quite as well if you trip up and get picked up by one of them uglies." Lightning noticed that though the words were meant to tease, the tone of Fang's voice was not. It was something more along the lines of... concern?

"Don't tell me what to do." Eve scoffed before reattaching the her rifle onto her back and turning to face the front, "Say the word, Commander." She addressed Lightning as she crouched low, preparing to run. Pushing the odd exchange from her mind, the pinkette once again turned her gaze to the Cie'th in the sky. Waiting until they all as far as they could be from where the group was, she aimed her weapon at the nearest one.

"Now. Go!" She commanded. As soon as Eve made a break for it, the Cie'th screeched in unison, all moving to dive for the soldier. Lightning unloaded into the nearest creature, repelling it quickly while Hope managed to throw another off course, forcing it to sweep to the side to avoid colliding with another ruined building. The third Cie'th had gotten too close to Eve before Lightning could take aim at it. However as it reached for the Lance Corporal, claws outstretched, something tripped her up. She hit the ground hard, skidding to a stop. The fall had just managed to pull her down out of the creature's reach, it's claws snapping at the air above her instead. The narrow miss gave Lightning the time she needed to aim and fire at the Cie'th, repelling it away from fallen soldier.

"What the hell was that!" Eve screamed, noticing Dajh catching the object that had hit her leg and tripped her up.

"Uh... An assist?" The cadet yelled back to the Lance Corporal, now scrambling for the collapsed building. He noticed Hope giving him a look, "What?" All he got in response was a raised eyebrow.

"Alright, you guys are up." Lightning instructed as she saw Eve draw her weapon and fire off a few rounds into a Cie'th that had attempted to claw at her through the larger opening to the cover she was under, "Hope, provide cover when you can but keep up with Fang and Vanille. Dajh, don't fall behind."

"And watch the assists, please." Vanille added quietly.

"It was an accident!" The cadet defended as he folded his boomerang and slipped it into the pack on his back, "Okay so I missed the Cie'th and hit Eve—it still worked out pretty well if you ask me-"

"Go! Now!" Lightning prompted loudly. Fang took off with Alva, Vanille falling closely behind. Hope half-pulled Dajh forward and fell in behind them. As they may their way towards Eve, the Cie'th made several attempts to pick them off but the rounds from both Lightning and Eve managed to prevent them from succeeding. As the group reached the second point of cover, one of the winged Cie'th seemed to collide with the exit of the passage above Lightning. It managed to loosen a few of the large chunks of rock that threatened to fall on the pinkette.

"Lightning! You need to move!" Hope yelled, firing at the Cie'th above her. He managed to clip one of it's wings, forcing it to cling the rock wall to keep from falling to the ground, "Lightning, now!" He repeated as he felt Eve step out from cover to unload into the creature, now easily-targeted and vulnerable, "Light!" Hope pulled the end of the Eve's rifle, stopping her fire.

Lightning, still concentrating on the other two Cie'th, lowered her own weapon as she noticed the shadow under her feet. Looking up to see a thrashing mass falling towards her she threw herself out of the way. As the Cie'th hit the ground, still screeching and attempting to right itself, Lightning used the momentum to roll to her feet. As she straightened up, a set of loosened rocks fell to crush the failing Cie'th. A stray bit of rock clipped the side of her head, staggering her slightly.

"She needs to get over here." Hope muttered.

"Take Alva." Fang instructed, not waiting for an agreement from the soldier before handing him the small girl.

"Well, that's one down." Dajh said through nervous laugh.

"Yeah, which means two left." Vanille added, looking upwards, "Still circling and... swooping." She noticed one preparing to dive at Lightning who was now running towards them—still slightly stunned. She pointed, tugging at Hope's arm frantically, "Swooping! Definitely Swooping! Swooping is bad!"

"Eve, cover." Fang directed, spinning around her lance. Eve didn't hesitate to raise her rifle again and provide the shots to keep the second Cie'th away. Watching the Cie'th above Lightning, Fang timed the dive, raising her lance upward and back. Planting a foot forward she took aim and let her weapon fly. It flew to pierce the descending Cie'th in the chest—just missing its crystal—before it reached Lightning. The impact from it crashing to the ground only staggered Lightning more as she ran, but by then Fang had reached her and was helping to guide her to the others.

"Light, you alright?" Vanille asked worriedly as Lightning and Fang finally made it to cover. The smaller Oerban immediately began to heal the cut on the side of the pinkette's head. As Fang stepped away, Hope gently placed Alva against a small wall, farthest from the entrance of the building.

"What was that?" He asked the Oerban, moving to stand next to her.

"An assist." Fang stated bluntly after a moment of silence. Dajh scoffed from his position near Eve, who rolled her eyes. Hope wasn't amused. He'd seen what impulsive recklessness could lead to—even if it was paired with noble intentions.

"It was also a brilliant way to lose your lance." Eve broke the tension in the air. The others turned to look just in time to see the fallen Cie'th flip itself upright and push itself off the ground unsteadily. She turned to the others, to Fang in particular, with an almost amused look—almost, "Again."

Recovering from the blow to the head, Lightning sighed heavily, anticipating the fight she'd had to break up.

"Well then I guess you'll just have to use your fancy toy and help me get it back." Fang said, moving closer toward Eve, towards the entrance of the building. Lightning raised an eyebrow. She had thought something had been strange between Fang and Eve before but had chalked it up to being serious about their current situation. But something had definitely happened between the two, she had no doubt of it now.

"No offense but shouldn't we be running away from the Cie'th?" Dajh pointed toward the inner part of the collapse building.

"They aren't going to stop trying to get to Alva." Lightning stated, pulling her gaze from the Fang and Eve to look over at the younger DeFluo. Vanille had moved to her side and was checking her condition, "We're not going to get far without taking them out."

"Good, 'cause I want my lance back." Fang added, earning several stares of ire.

"Fang, we need a plan here, we may have gotten our powers back but we can't fly." Lightning warned, "They have the aerial advantage-"

"And we have the advantage of cover on the ground." Eve cut in, "One of them is already injured, if we ground it again we could deal with it easily."

"Then we ground it. But we come up with a plan, then stick to it." Hope demanded, staring directly at Fang, "There are still forces at work here that make your style of playing-it-by-ear extremely dangerous."

"Yeah, well I refuse to sit around and wait for the buggers to get tired of trying to kill us which, considering them being Cie'th and all, won't be any time soon." Fang retorted, turning to head out of the opening. Before she could leave, Lightning stepped to block her way.

"I refuse to be responsible for letting your bull-headed impulsiveness get you killed."

"You're one to talk, Sunshine." Fang said lowly, nearly missing the pinkette wince, "Besides, I'm not your responsibility, remember?" with that, the warrior brushed past, peeking out from the cover, "The injured one is circling round, flying low. Be ready to keep number two off my ass, kid."

"Don't call me kid." Eve replied, "And don't tell me what to do." The Lance Corporal readied her weapon anyway and stepping toward Fang. The Oerban just scoffed and shook her head.

"Just try to keep up." With that, Fang ran out from cover, immediately drawing the attention from the two remaining Cie'th. Running hard and fast to a massive fallen tree, Fang jumped up onto it, running directly at the nearest Cie'th. The second one was coming at her from the side but was forced to dart away as Eve fired a few rounds at it from a position on another low wall.

Fang launched herself upwards to meet the injured Cie'th mid-dive. Barely managed to evade it's claws, she managed to catch a grip onto her lance protruding from it's chest. It screeched, barely missing colliding with the tree she'd been running along. She gripped the lance with the other hand as the creature began flying upward, whirling around in an attempt to unlatch her from itself.

Back near the ground, Eve was struggling to get a clear shot at the creature to assist. Before she could attempt a first shot, her rifle was knocked away by Lightning.

"You can't risk hitting Fang." The Commander ordered, "Besides, you've got a different problem to deal with." Eve followed Lightning aim to see the second Cie'th circling back to make another attempt at them, "You keep that one busy, I'll deal with Fang's." She didn't wait for Eve to agree before running off in the direction Fang was being carried in.

Only it was more like being dragged than carried as the Cie'th flew dangerously close to the cliffs surrounding the ruins. Fang felt the jagged edges of rocks jutting from the wall graze her more than once as she forced herself to keep her grip on her lance. It was buried deep in the creature's side and with all the thrashing it was doing, she couldn't get into a good enough position to pull it out.

Meanwhile, Lightning had jumped up onto a fallen beam connecting two taller ruined buildings while channeling a Ruin spell in each hand. She waited, watching the flailing Cie'th come around. As it neared, she thrust her hand forward, letting the spell fly. It hit the Cie'th near it's center effectively cutting it's momentum, just about stunning and stopping it in mid-air. Fang however—unaffected by the spell—retained her momentum and used it to remove her lance from the creature. Righting herself in the air so she 'landed' against the side of the toppled pillar Lightning was standing on, Fang pushed off it. She propelled herself toward the Cie'th now falling toward the ground and once again, pierced it with her lance. This time through the crystal, shattering it as it hit the ground.

Confirming Fang was alright, Lightning returned her attention to Eve. The Lance Corporal was still firing at the last remaining Cie'th. It remained at a distance where Eve couldn't get a clean shot at it. Her patience running out, the pinkette unfolded her gunblade.

"Eve! Run towards me!" As soon as Eve cease firing to turn and give the pinkette a questioning look, the Cie'th began a dive, "Now!" The Lance Corporal threw one glance at the Cie'th before turning and doing as ordered. Lightning took aim as Eve ran at her. Her jaw continued to tighten as both the Lance Corporal and the Cie'th drew closer. At the very last moment—a split second before Eve would have run into her, Lightning side stepped and fired a single shot at the Cie'th's crystal. It screeched in pain, it's descent altered slightly.

She grabbed one of Eve's arms, the momentum swinging them around. When she let go, she effectively threw both Eve and herself off the fallen beam and out of the way of the thrashing Cie'th. Unfortunately the direction which she had jumped was also the direction the Cie'th was half-flying, half-falling in. Before she hit the ground, she felt something tear into her shoulder. She bit her lip and let a pained grunt as she landed unsteadily, ending up on her side. The grip on her weapon loosened and it flew from her grasp as she skid to a stop.

"LIGHT!" The commander heard Fang scream as she forced herself to one knee. The Cie'th continued to screech as it flew away roughly. It seemed to be retreating until one of its wings caught the side of the rock wall as it was flailing past it. As it toppled over and disappeared behind the wall, there was a sickening thud as the screeching stopped abruptly leaving a silence in the air.

"Light, Light your shoulder." Fang, unlike the soldier was more concerned for the pinkette's wound than the confirmation of the last Cei'th's death, "Vanille!" She yelled towards the mass of ruined buildings, "What the hell was that Light? Huh?"

"Me?" Lightning replied, finally relaxing, judging the area secure—or at least free of any more winged Cie'th, "I wasn't the one playing cowboy on one those things."

"No, you just decided to play chicken and use Eve as bait." The pinkette raised a curious eyebrow at Fang's concern—not for her, but for Eve. She didn't get to ask about it as Vanille and the others reached them. Eve eventually made her way over as well, sporting a few cuts and bruises, but nothing too serious.

"I can heal the wound but we'll need to take the crystal fragments out first." Vanille stated, already extracting a flake of the crystal armor the Cie'th had—just like the others.

"Alright, we'll make camp here tonight but we need to get back under cover." Hope ordered, still eying the spot where the last Cie'th had gone down.

"C'mon Light." Fang mumbled, throwing one of the pinkette's arm over her shoulder as they got up. She wrapped her own arm around Lightning's waist as she began to help her back towards one of the more open ruins that still provided a decent cover.

"My gunblade." Lightning mumbled, attempting to keep her mind from the tingles echoing through her body at Fang's touch.

"I'll get it." Hope, being the nearest to it, jogged over to grab it. Watching him and the others, Eve registered something missing. Someone missing.

"Where's Alva?" She asked in a low voice. The others turned to look over at her.

"She's under cover of the first building, she's safe-" Dajh began but was cut off as Eve brushed past him.

"Where-?"

"Eve?" A faint voice reached all of their ears. The looked to see Alva limping towards them. As Eve stepped toward her, she felt a chill run up her spine.

"Alva, get back under cover." Eve's could not hide the sudden fear in her voice as she quickly made her way toward her sister.

"Eve, I..." The younger DeFluo stumbled slightly, "I can't-" A screech, louder and more intense than any of the ones before, filled the air. Eve didn't even bother to look over her shoulder, merely dropped her weapon and broke into a run towards Alva.

"Eve! Watch out!" Hope screamed only to be drowned out by another screech. Lightning's shot apparently hadn't quite shattered the crystal of the last Cie'th. He drew his pistol and aimed at the fast-descending enemy and fired a few shots. Two of them hit but were not enough to make it fall and it was getting too far from him and too close to both Alva and Eve for him to be shooting with a pistol. Cursing under his breath, he scrambled for Lightning's gunblade.

"Eve!" Alva repeated, stumbling again, this time falling to the ground on her knees.

"Eve, drop!"

"Alva! Get down!" Eve yelled, ignoring Hope's orders. She could feel practically feel the gusts of air from the pumping wings behind her as she jumped at Alva to shield her from the Cie'th. She barely managed to graze the scarf around Alva's neck before she felt something dig into her shoulder and back, "Gah- Alva, run!" She grunted as she was lifted off the ground, up and away from her sister.

"EVE!" Hope heard the younger girl scream as he finally managed to unfold the gunblade. But by the time he could take aim, the Cie'th was already at the rock wall, with Eve still in it's clutches.

"Goddamnit!" The First Lieutenant cursed as both Cie'th and Eve disappeared from view. Forcing himself to remain calm, he ran towards Alva who was scrambling in the direction Eve was taken, "Everybody get the hell under cover!" He commanded as he reached Alva, "Alva? Alva, I need you to come with me out of the open, okay?" He tried to pull her to her feet but she struggled against him, "We need to get somewhere more safe."

"No, I have to... Eve!" Hope couldn't tell if it were his words or just her weakened state but either way, she stopped struggling and collapsed against him, still muttering about helping her sister. Gently picking her up, Hope moved back toward the rest of the group.

"We'll get her back, Alva." Hope reassured the girl with a promise, if only to calm her down, "She did her job as guardian to keep you safe, now we need to keep it that way until we find her."

* * *

**A/N:**

Action chapters slay me. Terribly so.  
There ya go you Eve-haters. I took her outta the story for ya. Pfft.

I gots ma games working again. Which is a bad thing. For my writing.  
It's also bad for my plan to marry YUI and take over the planet.  
Just planet, not Universe. Not that ambitious. That much ambition gets you dead, more often than not.

Obviously I've just had too much sugar or something.


	38. Tempest Rising Part III

**Titan Rising Part III**

* * *

There was an uneasy silence among the six that were taking shelter in the safest part of the ruins they could find. They had started a fire and had shared the remaining food they'd brought along with them since the crash in the Subterra. Hope had taken first watch, but Fang had joined him for the fresh air. The other remained inside.

"She's asleep?" Lightning asked Vanille who was sitting near Alva who was curled up against the wall on a bedroll.

"Yeah." Vanille replied with an affirmative, adjusting the bedroll to cover the smaller girl's shoulders, "Seems like she's having bad dreams though." The Oerban made her way back to the fire to sit next to the soldier, "You think Eve is okay?"

"I don't know." Lightning replied honestly. Her shoulder was pretty much healed but it had hurt like hell, like a burning hot poker had done the job—and the Cie'th had only managed to graze her. She'd seen the Cie'th's talons rip right through Eve's shoulder as it clawed for Alva. The only reason it took off with Eve was probably because it's grip had been too tight—it's claws too deep in the older girl's shoulder to drop her before escaping out of range.

"How's the shoulder." Vanille asked, noticing the pinkette thoughtfully rolling it.

"It's fine." Lightning assured, grateful for the other woman's concern but not interested in drawing attention to it, "You should get some rest, we're leaving first light."

"What about you?" Vanille was already getting comfortable, sitting against a mossy rock.

"I'm about to go and relieve Hope from watch."

"But you've only slept for two or three hours after I healed you." The Oerban protested subtly, "The wound is closed but you were injured. You need the rest."

"It was enough." Lightning admitted, shifting her gaze from the crackling fire to Vanille whose face showed disbelief at the words, "Alva's not the only one having a hard time getting good sleep." The pinkette decided to add, taking the chance that it would convince the other woman sleep wasn't really an option.

"I see." Came an uncharacteristically short and accepting response. Lightning had to admit, she'd expected Vanille to push the subject. And though she'd never admit it, she'd felt a slight pang of disappointment that the smaller woman hadn't asked. Ten years ago she may have played the strong and silent card but over the years Lightning learned that telling others what you were thinking didn't always signify weakness. And that by merely saying it aloud, and have someone listen, was enough to lighten the burden of whatever it may have been.

The pinkette found herself curious of the other woman's actions as the Oerban merely nodded before continuing to get comfortable against her rock, "Well, as much as I'd like to pry for information, I don't have as much stamina as you and am luckily a heavy sleeper." Vanille closed her eyes as a smile touched her lips, "Maybe you can find someone else to share with."

Lightning knew a hint when she heard one. She almost scoffed at Vanille's suggestion but instead shook her head and let it go, getting to her feet to go and relieve Hope from watch. Had Vanille always been so deviously insightful? Perhaps the ability to look past her own need to deal with everything herself—which had again, come with age—enabled Lightning to only notice it now.

Making her way out and up onto the slanted roof where Hope had been sitting watch, Lightning registered how chilly it had gotten.

"Hey Light, how's the shoulder."

"The same as the last time you asked me, Hope." The Commander replied, leaning against the bent tree half-hanging off the edge of the building. The First Lieutenant chuckled, stretching his arms, "Get inside, get warm and get some rest." The pinkette instructed. As Hope got up, gave a wave and headed inside, she cleared her throat before looking upwards, "You should too, Fang."

There were no moons in the sky. The storm occluded all light from the moons and stars. Yet there was a glow about the ruins. As if the stones themselves let out an eerie glow. Not just the stones, small specs of light in the tree illuminated the figure sitting in it. Above Lightning, in one of the larger branches of the tree, Fang sat; her hands behind her head, legs crossed, looking comfortable in a position no one other than her could have looked comfortable in.

"Is that an order, Commander Farron?" Came the teasing words in a tired voice. Lightning merely moved to sit in the small cluster of rock Hope had been sitting in—oddly comfortable, all things considered.

"And if it were?" Lightning decided two could play at that game. She sat up briefly to adjust the position of the gunblade holstered behind her. She heard Fang jump from the tree and land at the base a few feet away. As she sat back, she had to mask a small intake of breath at the sight of the glimmering lights behind Fang's profile. The taunting question remained unanswered—though of no real concern to either of them.

"Listen, Fang," Lightning began eventually but found it hard to continue, "About what I said-"

"What, that you loved me?" Fang cut her off, voice shaky but most definitely resolute, "After we nearly got swallowed by the world? After ten years? Out of the blue?" The pinkette remained silent. If the only way Fang could sort out her feelings was to rant them out, so be it, "What about it, Light? You say you're giving me time to figure out—we don't have time!" To Lightning's slight amusement, the Oerban began to pace, "We're risking our lives, heading towards god-knows-what—with little to no idea of what we're going to do once we get to it, by the way. I just..." Fingers ran through dark, unruly locks, "I don't even know what to think anymore."

"Believe me, I know the feeling." Lightning mumbled. It didn't go unheard by Fang.

"Do you?" The warrior asked, disbelieving. Lightning stared hard into dark eyes. Finding only resolve behind them, she realized Fang wasn't going to back down this time.

"Sure I do, Fang." Lightning crossed a leg over the other and leaned back in her seat, "Orphan, Barthandelus, death of Cocoon—different circumstances but an equally end-of-the-world level situation-"

"I didn't suddenly... profess my love for you-!"

"No, you didn't!" Lightning cut Fang off before her voice could reach a yell, "I didn't have anything to give me any sort of clue to what I was feeling." In an instant Lightning could feel her own memories start to hit her like mini Pulse-shifts.

"You think you did me a favor by telling me-?"

"I didn't say that." Lightning corrected, "It probably wouldn't have mattered at the time." She looked away, "It really shouldn't matter now."

"The hell it shouldn't!" Fang stepped towards the pinkette, "I go to sleep and I wake up ten years later." Another step, "And as if the world ending-" Another step, "-_again_, wasn't enough, you drop your confession on me?" Fang was now only about a foot and a half away from where Lightning was sitting, "You can't have_ any_ idea what that's like!"

"And _you_ have no idea what it's like to realize the person you care about most is gone." Lightning all but jumped to her feet to stand directly in front of Fang, "You think figuring it out is hard? Try finding the answer only to have somebody else have to sacrifice it." Cerulean crashed with forest green, "And do nothing but watch because it was something that had to be done."

Lightning found her nails digging into her palms, her fists were clenched so tight. She tore her gaze from Fang, loosening her fingers, "I've gone from living years with heartache to bearing the guilt from healing from it—from letting you go." She let out a defeated sigh, "And now you're here." The soldier shook her head and cleared her throat. She'd lost control—said too much, "So don't tell me I can't not know what to th-mmph-"

She found herself no longer able to move her lips. When she fully comprehended the reason why, she found herself no longer able to breathe. Fang's lips were on hers. Fang was kissing her. And she had begun to kiss back. Wait-

"Wait-" The soldier pulled away.

"You keep going on-" Fang's hands were now around her waist, pulling the pinkette closer "-about how long you've waited-" A peck to the corner of her mouth, "Now you're-", A gently bite of her bottom lip "-planning to wait longer?" With each touch of Fang's lips against her skin, Lightning grew more and more disoriented. The soldier's self-control slowly became unhinged at the lack of chill, now replaced with a tantalizing heat between her and the warrior, "Talk, talk, talk..." Lightning could feel the other woman's breath on her lips, "...and all we do is run in circles."

"What are you doing, Fang?" Lightning barely managed a whisper in a final, feeble attempt to keep control. She was using most of her strength to keep her legs from buckling under her. She gazed into the pools of dark green, so close she could see herself in them.

"Figuring it out." Fang stated, a hand moving to cup the side of Lightning's face. There was nothing but truth in her eyes as she spoke, "My way." She added before leaning in again.

Before Lightning's eyes fluttered closed, she could have sworn she saw that gleam in Fang's eyes that had disappeared the moment she'd confessed to her. That playful arrogance Fang displayed when she was absolutely sure she was right about something. Putting two and two together, Lightning didn't hesitate to kiss back this time.

Soft, rough, tentative, passionate. Fang's lips on hers was too much for Lightning to even begin to describe. Giving up on trying, she let herself go and just lost herself in touch. No confusion, no anger, no guilt. The both of them continued just feeling until they both felt the aching pain in their chests from the lack of air. Reluctantly pulling away once more—if only just enough to breath—both women remained silent as they savored the moment.

"Figure it out?" Lightning whispered after a long moment.

"I might've," Fang replied through a smirk as their foreheads touched, "We may need to do that a couple more times to be sure..." Her grin only widened when she received a small laugh in response. Lightning's laugh. Lightning never laughed, "That good huh?"

"Maybe little... too good." Lightning added, suddenly distracted. Fang noticed the pinkette confused expression and slowly became aware of the reason for it. They were no longer standing on the ruin building, surrounded by dimly glowing stone, under a glimmering tree. She pulled away enough to scan the area around them. They were on an open stretch of rock, dead grass under their feet, dust and fog in the air. Large rocks littered the ground around them. At a closer inspection of one near them, Fang realized they weren't rocks, they were bodies.

"What the hell is this?" She muttered, "A Pulse-shift? Another memory?"

"It's mine." The answer brought Fang's eyes back to the pinkette still half in her arms. She noticed Lightning looking past her. Turning around slowly, she looked up to see the blurry silhouette of a massive broken tower behind the fog.

"Taejin's Tower." Fang turned to Lightning who'd broken away from her, "Light, this is-" A scream pierced the air, cutting Fang off. Before Fang could react, Lightning darted off, running fast in the direction of the scream, "Light, wait!" Fang called as she took off after the her. Maneuvering around the many bodies on the ground, Fang followed the pinkette up a small rock path and onto a large cliff area. She skid to a halt, where she saw Lightning had stopped. Following the soldier's gaze, she took a sharp intake of air at what she saw

The fog was preventing her to seeing everything clearly but she recognized that dual-light-bar shoulder-guard and red cape anywhere. Lightning of the past was fighting something off, something big. Exactly what it was she couldn't tell, it was farther into the fog than she could make out. Cowering a few feet from the fight, nearer to them, was a small figure. A girl. Looking closely, it was unmistakable the girl was a young Eve.

"Light-" Fang began, her eyes returning to Lightning's past-self fending off the giant silhouette. She didn't finish as she saw something lash out, catching the memory of Lightning off guard. Another attack by the creature and Fang's breath caught in her throat, this time in horror, as she saw blood fly.

"Araaagh!" Lightning next to her cried out, clutching her patched eye and falling to one knee. Fang immediately went to assist, steadying the soldier who growled in pain.

"Light..." She tried to check on the soldier's eye but she was twisting in what she could only imagine was intense pain, "Light, your eye..." The pinkette continued to struggle as Fang attempted to move her hand away. Eventually she did and saw the trail of blood dripping down Lightning's face from under the eyepatch, "No..." Glancing back up towards the memory. She saw the silhouette of the creature prepare for another attack. Lightning of the past was still on the ground, in pain, much more so than her present counter part who was still able to kneel and keep herself upright.

"STOP!" Another shrill scream filled the air and a blast of light hit the creature before it could attack again. Both Fang and Lightning looked to see Eve, now standing up with her hands outstretched, a faint yellow glow around her. As the glow faded, she fainted, falling over onto her side. As she did so, the creature seemed to back away. It turned and ran, not directly at Fang and Lightning but in their direction. They still couldn't get a good enough look to see it clearly as it disappeared behind a large rock formation.

"Light?" Fang asked, feeling the pinkette rise to her feet. She followed Lightning closely, still aware of the wound in her eye. As they drew nearer to the rock formation there was a flash of yellow and a choked sob from where the creature should have been. As the two of them climbed around the rockpile, their eyes widened at the sight.

Lying in a pile of what looked like rags; shivering and whimpering against the rocks; was a girl even smaller than Eve. Though matted in dirt and presumably blood, her hair was unmistakably white. Her tear-filled eyes were a dull gold.

"Eve isn't the guardian." Lightning whispered, "Alva is." Fang swallowed thickly at the implications of the realization as the memory began to fade.

At the same time, in a different place, a pair of eyes shot open after seeing the same memory. One blue, one green, both filled with tears as they began turning a deep red.

* * *

**A/N:**

I have nothing witty or random to say at the moment.  
I think it has something to do with the fact I am at work right now...


	39. Tempest Rising Part IV

**Tempest Rising IV**

* * *

"Something's up."

"What?" Hope turned to Vanille who'd been walking next to him. She motioned o the soldier and warrior ahead of them, "Between Fang and Light? Since when has anything _not_ been up between Fang and Light?"

"No... something serious." The first Lieutenant was mildly amused at the blatantly suspicious face and tone the small Oerban was sporting. Suddenly she gasped, covering her mouth, tugging on his sleeve, "It happened." He raised an eyebrow at her, "Don't give me that look, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

He couldn't deny that he did. Everyone who'd been around Fang and Lightning at the same time for more than five minutes would have been able to see the incontrovertibly impassioned connection they had with each other. In simpler terms: Acting like a pair of hormonal teenagers. So much so that'd it become expected of them to communicate through quarreling more than anything else. But Hope still wasn't fully convinced that the slight difference in their behavior toward each other that day was due to the reason Vanille suspected.

"They're too busy bickering like an old married couple for _that_ to happen-"

"It happened." Vanille concluded again, disregarding Hope's attempt at reasoning. The officer sighed, shaking his head.

"Maybe they're just worried about the current situation? Y'know, with the whole world on the brink of destruction and all?"

"Oh please, as if they'd never experienced _that_ before." The fact that Vanille's comment was completely true made the statement more amusing than it perhaps should have been, "Look at them!" Hope's gaze returned to the two ahead of them. They weren't bickering, but they they hadn't been bickering for a while now—which made it less than unusual. He'd just figured they were keeping distance and ignoring one another. But they weren't quite doing that either. They were walking pretty much side by side. If they were any closer they'd be holding hands.

"You see how close they are?" Vanille's question brought Hope's attention back to the discussion.

"Yeah."

"You see them bickering?"

"No-"

"It happened!" Vanille exclaimed as if she'd just explained something highly complex yet blatantly obvious. Hope chuckled in defeat, realizing she was probably right.

"What happened?" A voice from behind them caused them both to look over their shoulders. Dajh had caught up from still being half-asleep and trailing behind slightly. He noticed the raised eyebrows he was getting from the other two, "What? I'm not a morning person! Some of us aren't small enough to be carried around to enable us to sleep in." He motioned toward Hope and sleeping figure the First Lieutenant was carrying on his back. He received a swift smack to the back to the head from Vanille.

"Alva's sick!"

"Oh, right. Y'know, if she's supposed to be some all-powerful creature of Titan, shouldn't she be more... all-powerful? And not so much... all-sickly?" The cadet somehow managed to evade another whack from Vanille, "What? I'm just saying." Dajh defended as the other two continued walking.

"She's probably sick because she's struggling against her guardian instincts and powers." Vanille gently dabbed at the small, whimpering girl's damp forehead, "I had thought it was strange the Dissidium Elixir was becoming ineffective so quickly. She wasn't fighting some Cie'th curse, she was fighting against her nature."

"Well it looks like her _'nature'_ is winning." Dajh added before he could stop himself. Neither Hope or Vanille commented on it since the both of them had understood the underlying point of his comment.

"Then let's hope she's strong enough to keep fighting it until we reach Eve." Hope muttered.

"And then?" Again, Dajh received no response from the other two. He looked past the both of them at the two leading the group. He silently hoped that whatever Titan saw in Fang and Lightning worthy enough to give his replacement was more than just their looks and personality.

"Y'know something's been bothering me, for a while now." Lightning broke the silence between herself and Fang, "You butt heads with Eve every chance you get since you meet, then suddenly you're like the best of friends? And now you're just as—if not more—hard-pressed to get to her than I am." She observed Fang's actions; the Oerban shifted her weight ever-so-slightly and shifted her eyes away from Lightning's a little too quickly.

"Well... she _is_ part me—and you for that matter," The raven-haired woman grinned sheepily as she motioned between her and he pinkette, "I like us both just fine so... y'know..." The half-assed answer didn't impress Lightning, yet she found the urge to smile at the answer unexpectedly strong. She held her composure though, clearing her throat and decided to be patient and wait the truth out.

It eventually paid off. Fang knew the soldier was aware she was being less than honest. Sighing, the Oerban's shoulders slumped, "I really do see myself in her. More than just my face." Lightning continued to listen as Fang's voice grew serious, "That day when the hulk Cie'th attacked the camp? Eve may have died without Alva's help—Alva's power. Power she didn't have." Noticing the slightly confused face on the pinkette she explained further, "You know how it is don't you? Having a younger sister to protect." Fang referred to Serah, "It's just how it goes with us older ones, we have to be the protectors, we fight for them. And we do it because we're stronger, we have to be."

Lightning began to understand but felt Fang had more to say so remained silent.

"That day Eve wasn't strong enough." Lightning recalled the time the hulk and lurker Cie'th had ambushed the camp while she and Fang had been away, "She fell and Alva had to save her—with powers she didn't have."

"So she messed up and had to be saved-"

"Not just by anyone... but the person she was trying to protect." Fang interrupted firmly, a sharp tone in her voice, "You're the perfect Lightning Farron, I doubt you've ever needed Serah to save you." The comment would have felt like a punch to the gut if Fang were any less solemn.

"So... you bonded over a moment of weakness?" Lightning tried again. This time she got a scoff in return.

"You could say that." Fang turned to Lightning before motioning with her chin, over her shoulder at Vanille, "Our roles of protector and protected were defined long before we became l'Cie. But once we had, Vanille embraced the powers much faster and more effectively than I did." Lightning threw a quick look at the smaller Oerban who was Hope and Dajh, giggling and something the latter had probably said, "I like to say I'm stronger and faster physically and the power level between us as decreased slightly but with the amount of raw magic Vanille has, she's still more powerful than I could ever be." Fang let out an almost sad laugh, "Don't let her twin-tails and childlike wonder fool you, she could probably wipe the floor with both of us if she wanted."

Watching more emotion cross Fang's face than she thought she'd ever seen before, Lightning realized there was probably a significant story behind the explanation the warrior was giving. While curious, the pinkette felt it was one Fang had to feel like telling, without being asked. Even without witnessing the power the Oerban spoke up, Lightning began to understand the connection Fang had made with Eve. Contrary to Fang's belief, she'd felt a similar feeling with Serah, only it involved Snow—which she felt in some ways could've arguably been worse.

"Alright." Lightning nodded, deciding not to pry any more than what Fang was willing to give, "Eve's lack of powers may not be such a bad thing, thinking about it." She moved the subject along, "I assume without her powers, she can't act as the replacement Titan was hoping for." She looked over at Fang, "Which means we may have time to figure something out." The pinkette then noticed the strange avoidance of Fang's eyes again, "Fang?"

"Actually... that... may not be... _entirely_ true."

"What?"

"Well, I'm just saying that Eve's powers may not, in fact, be lacking... so much as... fully realized." Fang winced at the look of wary suspicion on the pinkette's face.

"What's going on?" Hope's voice entered the conversation. Apparently Lightning had actually stopped walking to wait for Fang's answer. The warrior looked between the other members of the group who were catching up.

"Well she couldn't control them yet." Fang added in an attempt to argue the non-severity of the fact.

"Not confidence-inspiring." Lightning responded, "Care to share exactly what happened, Fang?"

"That time on the cliff, Eve said I saved us from falling. I didn't."

_:::_

_Fang let out a pained grunt as she hit the shaking ground. Though dust filled them, her eyes remained on the Lance Corporal she was trying to reach. Scrambling to her feet, she threw herself toward the slipping soldier, arm outstretched. She soon found she was too far, too late. The root keeping Eve from falling snapped and she fell, the small yelp of helplessness that escaped her echoed in Fang's ears just as loud as a full-on scream._

_Before she could formulate a plan—before she could formulate a reaction, there was a blinding flash that blurred Fang's vision for a few seconds. Through squinting eyes she noticed a shift in the landscape once more and heard the tearing and grinding of earth. A decent portion of the lower part of the rock side had been ripped out and was now flying upward toward her. She tore her eyes from it as she struggled to scramble away. The upper part of the overhang was now crumbling at the loss of support. She was forced to jump from one fractured chunk to the other as they fell from beneath her feet._

_When she eventually found herself on solid ground, on her back, nerves on edge and out of breath, there was a loud crunch in the ground behind her. Turning onto her stomach she saw Eve getting to her feet from a crouched position. Her eyes glowed red, and behind her floated massive slabs of earth, each one surrounded by crackling red energy._

_The Oerban jumped to her feet, only to be forced off balance by a giant gust of wind. She managed to fall into a Steelguard stance just as a flash of red whipped out toward her. It ripped through her defenses like a blade through water. It decimated her guard and left her completely vulnerable to a smaller slab of earth that slammed her in the side._

_As she fell to her knees, she noticed Eve do the same. The glow in the other woman's eyes had spread around her body and red energy flickered around her—not unlike it was around the chunks of earth that were now caught in the small whirlwind. The soldier screamed again as the winds only seemed to pick up. The gusts didn't mask the pain in her screams. The raw energy and magic was consuming her from the inside out._

_Unsure if it'd work, Fang summoned as much magic as she could. She'd never been very good at controlling large amounts of it at a time but the balance of power and control concerned her little in that moment. Realizing the energy around Eve was getting more and more out of chaotic by the second, she raised her hands, letting loose the Fogga spell. The dark magic flew from Fang to surround Eve, just as the soldier seemed to send a burst of energy from her body. Fang's attempt to cancel out the energy seemed to have worked, at least enough for the whirlwind to die down._

_Eve was left glowing, her body still paralyzed with what looked like intense pain. Breathing hard, Fang summoned what little strength she had left to cast Daze at the Lance Corporal. As the spell hit Eve, sending her to the ground on her side, the red glow began to dim. Before it faded fully however, a flash of red whipped out, catching Fang across the neck and shoulder. Immediately Fang felt her body wracked with an overwhelming amount of pain. For a few moments it felt as though her muscles were being torn to pieces, her nerves thrown through a grinder and the back of her eyes burned. Though by the time she hit the ground on her back, the pain had vanished, the memory of it remained. For at least a minute or so, Fang was scared to move her body._

_Eventually, slowly turning her head toward Eve, Fang saw she was breathing. She was alive and conscious—barely. She met the soldier's worn out, tired, fear-filled eyes. Fang could only imagine what it had been like for Eve to feel the wrath of that much magic, sampling but a miniscule amount herself—for a brief moment only. As they both lay there in the aftermath of something neither could explain, there was a moment of understanding between them. Whatever had happened, whatever Eve had just done, should never have to be experienced by anyone—anything—else, ever again._

_:::_

"So let me get this straight." Lightning cleared her throat, "You witness Eve display powers greater and more dangerous than anything any of us have ever seen or experienced since Barthandelus and Orphan and you decide it's not worth bringing up?"

"it wasn't my place—I figured she'd tell you herself, eventually. You didn't see how scared she was, Light." Fang defended, "To have that much raw and potent power able to inflict that much pain and suffering without being able to control it? It's probably worse than not having any power at all."

"So we're back to having less time than we thought, then?" Dajh decided to use his powers of de-tensifying to keep the situation calm.

"Whether Eve's powers have awoken or not doesn't change the fact we need to get to the middle of the Faultwarrens as soon as possible." Hope added, also looking to defuse the sparks of an argument between the warrior and soldier, "And we can't let our guard down just because Eve's been taken. Cie'th could still be after her guardian-" He was cut off by a louder whimper from behind him, on his back. The others looked to see Alva begin struggling out of Hope's hold, "Alva-?"

The small girl thrashed against Hope's back, forcing herself from his grip. She hit the ground on her back, immediately beginning to crawl away.

"Alva?" Vanille knelt to try and calm her but the girl was frantic.

"Make it go away, make it go away, make it go away!" She hissed as Vanille managed to stop her moving.

"Shhh, we'll help you Alva, we're almost where we need to be okay?" The smaller Oerban tried to reassure the smaller girl, "We won't let you lose to the guardian, alright?"

"N-No..." Alva pointed toward Fang and Lightning—_past_ Fang and Lightning, "Not me..." The others turned to look where she was pointing. They witnessed a shimmering movement as something revealed itself on the path ahead of them, camouflaged somehow, "...that." Alva whispered.

It's camouflage ability fading, the group was met with a creature at least three times larger than the hulk they'd encountered previously. It stood on four legs ending in massive claws, it's body and head comparable to a large lizard, it's tail razor sharp and curled over it like a scorpion's. Taking it in fully, it almost resembled a Manasvin Warmech. Only it's body was covered in crystal and rock and on the tip of it's 'head' it bore a red crystal.

"Yeah... at this point I'm not even surprised anymore..."

"Well, _that's _certainly comforting, thank you Dajh." Hope hissed, not taking his eyes from the massive entity before them.

"I said _not surprised_, Estheim... didn't say not _scared out of my damn skin_."

Every member of the group seemed frozen in place as the gargantuan Cie'th raised it's tail in a high arch.

"Scatter!" Fang broke out of the reverie first, falling into Steelguard as the Cie'th attacked, its tail stabbing at the group.

* * *

**A/N:**

Round and round and round it goes  
Where it stops, no one knows. I certainly don't...

I really need to stop ending chapters like that =\  
Also, I feel compelled to write more about Fang's issue with power between her and Vanille so there may be some random, separate one-shot posted before the next chapter is finished.  
Though someone bought me a certain addicting, time-consuming, distraction-from-writing-fanfiction-type game for my birthday that's coming up; so if you thought my updates were slow recently... =\

Ugh, I use the fact that it is Summer as an excuse o_0


	40. Tempest Rising Part V

**Tempest Rising V**

* * *

Her ears were ringing, her chest and back of her head was sore, and there was the coppery taste of blood in her mouth as Fang struggled to her feet. She used the remains of the tree she'd been thrown into to help herself up. The latest enemy Cie'th the group had come across was proving to be a lot more trouble than the others—mainly due to it's massive size. It certainly didn't help that it seemed much more heavily armored than the others, either.

"Hope!" Lightning's voice rang out to reach Fang's ears. The Oerban saw the pinkette launching herself at the creature. To her right, Hope was casting a spell that put a faint, light blue glow around the Commander for a brief moment. And then, Lightning was a blur. Attacking swiftly and relentlessly—even the Cie'th could be taken as impressed, unable to react to the torrent of blows from the soldier. Eventually, however, it seemed impressed was all it was, for as fast as Lightning's attacks were, they weren't enough to pierce its armor.

Eventually the creature seemed to grow agitated and eventually did lash out. It's tail—which the group had found was much quicker than anticipated—whipped out and began stabbing at the Commander. While Lightning was having little trouble evading the blows, Fang shot a sizable, uncontrolled burst of magic at the Cie'th, provoking it successfully. It turned it's giant body toward her, tail poised and ready.

"Damnit Fang, don't be reckless, wait for a heal!" She heard the pinkette curse, still making attempts as the Cie'th. Fang charged at the beast. While the power of the blow she delivered to its side didn't quite launch it into the air, it knocked it off balance, causing its stab with its tail to miss Lightning who hand landed on its back. As the creature stumbled, the pinkette was forced to jump off and away.

"Says the one who's doing nothing but pissing the thing off." Fang retorted, moving to Lightning's side. Suddenly, something whizzed past her ear to hit the tail that'd darted forward to stab at the both of them, knocking it aside, keeping it from skewering them. The soldier and warrior also noticed a thick orange glow surrounding the Cie'th as it moved to recover.

"Only you two could be arguing at a time like this." Vanille's voice reached them as she finished casting Slow on the Cie'th.

"Think we could maybe save the old-married-couple bickering until _after _we're _not _dead?"

"Somehow that sentence seems a little off..." Vanille piped up, earning herself a glare from the young Katzroy.

"I'm sorry, it's a little hard to be witty _and _make sense when there's a Cie'th the size of a small Adamanchelid in my face!" Dajh retorted, jabbing a frantic finger at the debuffed creature before them. It's sheer size must have weakened the effect of the Slow spell that'd been cast on it. It also, most likely, didn't help with its intent to skewer the group with its tail.

"What was that about arguing?" Fang brought up, a smirk touching her face. It only widened into a grin as the two younger argumentees glared at her. Before long though, both the glares and the smirk were wiped off their faces when the Cie'th tail crashed against a Protectra spell that'd formed around them.

"Would you all get a hold of yourselves!" Hope's boomed in a tone worthy of his rank, "We need to take out it's tail." He strategized as another crash of the tail shook the ground as it hit the protective barrier, "Fang, your strength is probably the only effective way to do it. Light and I will keep it busy." Another attack on the Protectra spell, this time a stab with almost full power. The Slow spell had more or less faded by now, "Vanille, keep casting Slow on it. Dajh, I need you with Alva."

"Can't say I've been happier to be asked to babysit-" He felt a hand grasp his shoulder. The grip was strong and tight, almost painful but not quite.

"You're not babysitting her, you're protecting her." Lightning stated as Dajh met her steely gaze, "This thing is probably drawn to her and when Cie'th are drawn to something, one can only distract them for so long." Her eye darted over to Alva cowering near Vanille, "We've already lost one piece of this puzzle, I refuse to lose both."

"Speaking of pieces..." Fang interrupted as the Protectra shattered under another violent stab by the Cie'th. Vanille cast Slow on reflex, allowing the group to scatter once more. Dajh grabbed a whimpering Alva—now too scared to struggle—and ran toward the edge of the clearing, stopping just behind a large rock and fallen tree. He placed Alva safely between the two before peering over the cover towards the others.

He had seen both Lightning and Hope in action before but it'd been when their power had still been dormant. Even during their journey towards the Faultwarrens, the times Lightning had fought with magic, he'd been in the midst of combat himself—too panicked, too concentrated on not dying—to really be able to focus on anything else. But watching the Commander and First Lieutenant now, he found his awe of them almost matching his stress from the situation.

And Fang and Vanille. He'd only ever seen Vanille display powers of healing. It wasn't any less impressive but something had to be said about her ability to debilitate an opponent. There was little doubt in Dajh's mind that the reason the others were able to get close enough—for long enough—to even scratch the gargantuan and heavily armored Cie'th, was because of Vanille's crippling spells. He dared to wonder about her skill with fully offensive magic.

There was a loud cry from Lightning as she disregarded her role as distraction and launched herself at the creature's tail. She managed to pierce the appendage and use her weight to bring it back toward the ground.

"Fang! Now!" She yelled, already struggling against the pull that threatened to send her flying. A soft blue glow around pinkette as Hope cast Bravery and Vigilance on both her and the Oerban who had launched herself in the air. Fang seemed to hover above the creature for a long moment, accompanied by an eerie silence, all other things seemed to freeze. Then, with a force strong enough to send a shock wave through the area, Fang brought her lance down on the creature's tail. There was a booming sound, something like a roar, from the creature as the bright red weapon pierced its armored appendage and pinned it to the ground.

"Yes!" Dajh found himself fist-pump in joy as the others took the brief moment to regroup. With the inability to move it's tail, surely the creature would prove less of a challenge- His thoughts immediately stopped short and an exasperated groan rumbled in his throat as he heard an utterly horrifying tearing sound. The others watched as well, as the creature continued to howl—wail even—as it violently struggled to free its tail. This resulted it it completely tearing it in two along Fang's lance. And when it finally ripped free, the Cie'th tail lay limp on the ground for a few moments—it's main body just as still.

Fang seemed to snap back to reality first, moving to pull her lance out of the ground. As she did so, Lightning noticed movement other than the Oerban.

"FANG! WATCH OUT!" The warrior turned into a whip of one half of the tail. She let out a loud grunt of pain as it threw her a good dozen feet into the trees, out of sight, "FANG!" Lightning yelled, running toward her.

"Lightning, no!" Hope warned, throwing a Protect spell at the pinkette. Lightning turned just in time to see the Cie'th tail stab at it, cracking it but leaving her untouched.

"Fang?" Vanille had also started making her way in the direction her fellow Oerban had been thrown. Her back now turned to the Cie'th, she didn't notice the other half of it's tail raise itself and take aim at her. Dajh did, however, and had already begun running toward the saboteur.

"Vanille! Down!" He screamed, launching his boomerang at the tail as he threw himself at Vanille. His weapon flew wide of the target as it shot forward at the two below it. Vanille felt herself knocked aside before she could fully turn to look over her shoulder. But her surprised yelp was cut off by a ear-splitting cry before she hit the ground, half under Dajh. She looked down at the cadet, eyes widening when she felt something wet running down her arm.

"D-Dajh?" She squeaked, shifting herself into a seated position, "Dajh!" The liquid coating her arm was a deep red. Blood from a deep cut through her savior's shoulder—almost severing his entire arm, "DAJH!" Vanille screamed as she carefully rolled the boy onto his back. She couldn't help looking away from the wounded shoulder but eventually forced herself to examine the damage. One look at Dajh's face and she could see he was in immense pain—too much to even form sounds to express it, "No... no no no no, you..." Vanille mentally kicked herself into focus. She raised a hand Dajh's shoulder, a green glow surrounded it almost immediately, slowing the loss of blood, "You're going to be fine, I'm going to fix you, just stay awake." She mumbled, placing her other hand on side of the cadet's face, "Stay awake, Dajh!"

"Dajh?" Lightning's voice didn't reach Vanille's ears.

"Vanille!" Neither did Hope's frantic warning as he became aware of the two tails ready to strike again. He fired a load of rounds at the tail near Vanille and an unstable Thunder spell at the one near Lightning. Both tails seemed to falter in their movements but within seconds had recovered and whipped toward the First Lieutenant.

"Hope-!" A small cry from Lightning was the last thing Hope heard before there was the sound of tearing fabric and a searing pain up and across his torso. Stumbling backwards, Hope found himself unable to keep his grip on his pistol as it slipped form his hand and fell to the ground. As the burning sensation began to spread from his chest through his body, he looked down to find his uniform soaked in blood, a large laceration running upward from his right hip to his left shoulder. His legs buckling beneath him, Hope fell to his knees, vaguely registering that—were he not having as much trouble breathing—he would have matched Dajh's bloodcurdling screams with one of his own.

"NO!" Lightning screamed for him, running toward the fallen soldier. She evaded the many attempts at her by the Cie'th tails but as she drew near a swipe from the side took her off guard and knocked her away. As she skid to a stop, at the sight of a shadow forming on the ground around her, she reflexively threw herself out of the way of a tail stab. It buried itself in the ground in the place where she'd knelt seconds before. She wasn't as successful in dodging the second tail. It clipped her leg, cutting deep into her calf. Hitting the ground unevenly, she ended up on her side, forced to scramble away from the tails already poised and ready for another attack.

Refusing to give up, Lightning tightened her grip on her gunblade and kept it raised in front of her. She'd be damned if she'd die before putting the Cie'th—who'd done so much damage—down, like the rabid monster it was. As the tails moved to strike, Lightning found herself temporarily blinded by a bright light from her left. It shot across her line of sight, hitting the Cie'th in the side, sending it flying at least half a dozen feet, effectively preventing the tails from attacking the pinkette.

Ignoring the burning pain down her leg and the sticky blood pooling around her on the ground, Lightning squinted through an up-kick of dirt and leaves at the source of the light. The silhouette she was met with made her forget the wound in her leg completely. She'd seen before. It was one of the last things she'd seen with her right eye. For a moment, Lightning could have sworn she felt a dull, pulsing ache in the back right side of her head as the silhouette grew larger and more distinctive.

"A-Alva...?"

Eventually the silhouette stepped beyond the fast-fading obscurity of dirt and leaves to stand more or less directly over the pinkette. And now, without any ominous fog to hinder her vision, Lightning finally saw clearly what had taken half her sight those many years ago.

Towering above her—larger than she remembered—stood a creature that didn't quite match Lightning's picture of what she would deny she imagined in her dreams. The lower body of a horse, white but almost shimmering with a green tinge. Powerful, graceful legs ending in golden, crystal hooves stamped and scraped at the ground as if feeling it for the first time in a long time.

At where a neck should be was instead a humanoid torso, unmistakably female but undoubtedly brimming with raw power. Adorned in what looked like small scales—blue, violet and pink—not unlike the crystal armor present on the various Cie'th they'd encountered. Upon the shoulders extended blade-like bones that spread out in a fan, almost touching the crystal-helmed head which—despite it's size—did little to mask a face Lightning recognized almost instantly.

The familiarities didn't stop there. On one of the massive arms hung a silver, gold and green turtleshell-like shield. The hand of the other arm gripped Zantatsuken—larger than Lightning had ever seen it. The curved blade was the length of the creature's humanoid body; the massive weapon's _handle_ over half her size.

All anxiety and fear Lightning had felt, at the thought of facing off against the creature that'd left her in a coma for almost a month, disappeared and made way for an odd sense of awe and wonder as she took in the form towering above her. It was a strange sort of elegant mixed with a graceful sort of danger. A perfect blend of the two Eidolons the creature reminded Lightning of, and—to anybody else—their former masters.

* * *

**A/N:**

Oh my. An Update.

Sorry, Sorry.  
First it was _**A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones  
**_Then it was _**Mini Ninjas**_  
Then it was _**Majisuka Gakuen**_

Distractions, distractions, distractions...


	41. The Friend of my Friend

**The Friend of my Friend**

* * *

Lightning had slowly begun to crawl toward Hope but her eyes remains glued on Alva's guardian form. Odin and Bahamut in one. The more she thought about it—staring at Alva—the more unease she felt. She couldn't clearly define the reason for her growing fear, ONLY that she knew while Alva had prevented her from an undoubtedly deadly strike, there was no indication it was solely to save her. Lightning found it quite possible that the guardian had only attacked the Cie'th because it was the larger target. Alva had not yet even looked down at Lightning as the pinkette pulled herself away.

A shriek from the Cie'th—now recovered—managed to tear her gaze away. Her jaw tightened when she realized she was still, more or less, between the two of them. She did eventually reach Hope, grimacing at the amount of blood that soaked the ground around him. Grunting and flipping him over onto his back, she found it extremely difficult not to look away as she caught sight of his injury. She immediately began an attempt at healing magic but knew for Hope to have any chance of surviving, she'd have to get him to Vanille. But how to get him to her? The fact that the Cie'th was already beginning to close the distance between itself and Alva, was not helping.

As the pinkette was formulating an plan to get both herself and Hope out of there, she felt someone grab her arm and throw it over their shoulder.

"F-Fang!" She had barely felt the other woman's touch before she'd called the name.

"We need to move, Light." The Oerban didn't wait for an answer as she pulled Lightning to her feet.

"Hope-"

"I got him." Fang had grasped one of the First Lieutenants arm and was already moving both soldiers away from a certain battlefield toward Vanille and Dajh.

As they reached the other two, Fang gently lowered Lightning to the ground before turning and pulling Hope next to Dajh.

"Oh no..." Vanille cried quietly, "Hope..."

"Light managed to slow the bleeding, but you're gonna have to do most of the work." Fang instructed. Lightning saw the lighter-haired Oerban nod before moving so she could reached both men with her hands. The pinkette's eyes quickly returned to the Oerban warrior. She had a deep cut down her arm and blood dripped down the left side of her head. Her bottom lip was cut and half of the back of the jumpsuit she was wearing had been torn off.

"Fang." Lightning motioned the warrior over. As soon as the dark-haired woman reached her, she placed a hand over her arm to heal the cut.

"I'm fine for now, Light." Fang grabbed her wrist firmly and gently before lowering it. She motioned down at the Commander's leg, "You first." Lightning found herself much too tired to argue as she nodded and diverted all her magical energy down to her leg.

"What's going on back there?" Vanille yelled over her shoulder as another shriek from the Cie'th pierced the air. Lightning looked up from her leg just in time to see the massive creature stab at Alva with both tails. The guardian easily side-stepped out of the way of one while deflecting the other with her shield. The Cie'th attempted the same maneuver at least half a dozen times, each time meeting no success—being either blocked or evaded.

Lightning made note that while the Cie'th was still slightly larger, Alva's guardian form was built for power offense rather than swift evasiveness. Not just two but four powerful legs that could probably pack a hell of a punch if kicked. This was proven when the Cie'th grew visibly irritated and attempted to charge at Alva in addition to stabbing with it's tails. As it lunged at her with it's claws, Alva reared backward onto her hind legs, evading the attempt to lash out at her. She raised herself high enough to swipe at one of the tails with Zantetsuken. The clean slice effectively hacked it in half sending the Cie'th into a frenzy.

As her front hooves touched the ground, she spun, bringing her hind legs around and kicked out with them, slamming the Cie'th backwards. It howled as it rolled into the treeline. It had made a panicked last attempt at an attack with it's remaining tail but again, Alva blocked it with her shield—though this time it managed to pierce it, remaining caught when it began to retract itself. Staring at the appendage jutting from her shield, Alva raised her arm brought down Zantetsuken. In the one swift movement, she sliced the tip of the tail, leaving the remaining part of the extremity to drag itself back toward the main body of her opponent.

But Cie'th were known for their persistence—if anything. Despite the loss of both it's tails, the creature began dragging itself from the broken trees and tangled vines. Meanwhile, the guardian actually began backing away from the creature, increasing the distance between them. But this was not out of fear, nor an attempt to begin an escape from the battle. As soon as Alva had at least doubled the distance between her and the Cie'th, she raised Zantetsuken. Immediately, the weapon began to shift. The handle grew until it formed the body of a lance, the curved edge of the blade slid backward forming a straighter, longer point.

As Alva lowered it to point the tip at the Cie'th, the creature charged. Alva mirrored the action, breaking into a gallop in a flash, weapon and shield raised as the distance between herself and the Cie'th closed rapidly. As the Cie'th leaped at the guardian, claws outstretched, Alva pushed herself out of the way of one claw and blocked the other while shield-slamming the creature in it's massive head. At the same time, she stabbed at it with her lance, catching it in it's side, near it's hind legs.

The collision did not stop either combatant fully. Both continued in the same direction until reaching the same distance they'd been at before, turning to face one another. The only difference now was that the Cie'th was now limping slightly. Lance already raised, Alva remained still, waiting for the Cie'th to make the first move. And it did, launching itself into another assault, the limp only barely hindering it as it propelled itself toward Alva who eventually began her own charge.

As the guardian neared the Cie'th, she flipped the lance in her hand, holding it up over her shoulder. The Cie'th practically threw itself at her, unable to properly lunge due to the wound in its leg. Alva jumped, evading the attempt at her legs. While above the Cie'th, she thrust the lance down, straight through the crystal, through her opponent's head and into the ground. Landing as gracefully as ever, she slowed to a stop and turned, just as the Cie'th cried it's last cry, breathed it's last breath and finally grew still.

A short distance away, Lightning was struggling to her feet, her leg half-healed but the fight she'd just witnessed did little to help her nerves—nor the dull ache that plagued the back of her right eye socket. As she watched Alva move toward the Cie'th to retrieve Zantetsuken, Lightning unfolded her gunblade on reflex.

"Light, what're you doing?" She heard Fang say, still half-kneeling on the ground. Lightning didn't answer. She didn't know how to. Was she scared? Fascinated? Shocked? Whichever it was, she couldn't pull her gaze from Alva. Before she knew what she was doing, she found herself taking a step toward the guardian, who'd still yet to notice her.

"Light!" Fang's voice found her again, this time it was accompanied by a hand around her wrist, "Light, what are you thinking?"

"I..." This time Lightning turned to Fang. She searched for words but found none. Eventually she found the grip on her wrist tighten and the look of confusion fall from Fang's face. The Oerban's eyes were no longer on her. Following Fang's gaze past her, she saw Alva staring directly at them. Lightning found a small part of her panic as she raised her gunblade.

"Light, wait- don't-!" As soon as the pinkette had moved her weapon, the guardian raised her own. The lance folded back into Zantetsuken's original sword form as Alva began to advance on the both of them. Having noted that while fighting the Cie'th, Alva displayed no emotion on her face, Lightning was surprised to see a flash of recognition before a torrent of rage cross the guardian's face.

"Alva, wait-!" Fang began to yell but Alva had broken into a charge. Lightning didn't think her grip on the handle of her gunblade could get any tighter as she prepared herself for the attack. She knew the only logical move was to dodge, and she could feel Fang pulling on her arm but her feet remained frozen. She found herself unable to move, fear paralyzing her.

As Alva swung Zantetsuken, Lightning made a feeble attempt at a block but as expected, the swing sent her flying. She hit the ground on her side, grunting as she rolled to a stop on her back. She raised a hand to touch the eye patch across her eye as she sat up slowly. Though the aching hadn't ceased, her vision—among other senses—returned to her and she realized that Alva was facing her, completely ignoring Fang. No, not ignoring, protecting. Lightning wasn't the only one who remembered the day outside Taejin's Tower. Only this time Alva powers seemed to have grown over the years. And the physical resemblance Fang shared with Eve did little to help the situation.

"Alva, no!" Fang yelled as Alva charged at Lightning again. The pinkette had barely gotten to her feet before she had to throw herself out of the way of another swipe of Zantetsuken. Before she could recover, she found Alva's shield slam into her side, once again, sending her a good few feet away. Her grip on her own weapon had loosened at the impact and fell at her side as she grit her teeth, trying to shut out the pain of the blow.

"Light!" She'd apparently been knocked in a direction that put her back near Fang. The Oerban had run over to kneel at the pinkette's side, "What the hell are you doing, you can't take Alva on yourself in your condition." Having left her lance in the woods where she'd been thrown by the Cie'th, Fang moved to pick up Lightning's gunblade. She found her hand stopped, however, by the pinkette.

"She thinks you're Eve." Lightning explained through heavy breaths.

"What-?"

"The last time she was in guardian form, she attacked me because she thought I meant Eve harm." Lightning continued, wincing as she tried to sit up, not having much luck, "It's the last thing she remembers as guardian, it's why she's hostile to me now." Fang turned to Alva who seemed temporarily confused at Fang's action of running towards Lightning. The guardian recovered eventually however and began making her way toward the two of them again. As she did so, Fang grabbed the gunblade and got to her feet, putting herself between Lightning and Alva, "Fang-"

"I'm not letting her hurt you again." The warrior interrupted firmly, raising the gunblade towards Alva.

"Alva. Stop." She demanded as the guardian reached them. The confused expression returned to Alva's face as she obeyed. Fang had to admit she didn't blame Lightning's initial fear of Alva, nor her inability to stand against her. The guardian's towering presence was daunting and her mere form radiated insurmountable strength and power, "I am not Eve." The Oerban stated clearly, motioning to herself, "And Lightning is not trying to harm me." She stepped aside for only long enough to motion to the soldier who'd managed to get to her feet, "But I swear if you hurt her again-" Fang found Lightning's hand over her own which grasped the gunblade. The pinkette gently removed it from her grasp before staring directly into Alva's eyes and folding and holstering it.

"It's been ten years since you've been in that form. We came here to find out about you and Eve." When Alva made no move to lower her guard, Lightning swallowed thickly, "Please Alva, try to remember. Eve was taken trying to protect you and we were on our way to get her back."

"Eve." The guardian repeated the name softly, looking between Fang and lightning, "Fang... Lightning..."

"That's right, Lightning-" The soldier motioned to herself, before the warrior, "Fang. Neither of us means anyone here any harm." There was a long moment of silence before the anger and confusion began to fade from Alva's face and her guard was slowly lowered.

"I am... sorry." The guardian eventually said, lowering her head. As she did so, she seemed to take notice of her form for the first time. Her gaze shifted from her shield, to Zantetsuken, to her legs. It was almost amusing to the two observing her as she did so, "This form... I feel... I don't hurt anymore-"

"Would someone _please_ tell me what in all of Gran Pulse is going on!" A scream caused Fang, Lightning _and_ Alva to jump. Only the guardian didn't so much jump as whirled around, weapon raised again.

"Whoa, wait Alva, no!" Lightning raised a hand as she and Fang moved in front of the guardian again, "No, it's just Vanille, you remember Vanille, right?" Alva's gaze dropped from the source of the yell down to Lightning, then back up at the small Oerban who still couldn't quite afford to break concentration on her healing to look over her shoulder. When Alva once again, lowered her weapon, Lightning let out a breath of relief and allowed Fang to gently pull her towards the others. Alva, though still looking lost, did not move to follow.

"Vanille-"

"Fang? What's happened? Alva-?"

"She's... fine." Fang answered as best and brief as she could, "Hope and Dajh?"

"I've stopped the bleeding and started to close the wounds but they're are hard to close," Vanille explained, shaking her head slowly, "It's like my magic is being dulled when I try to heal them but I can't afford to force it."

"You _can_ save them though?" Lightning asked weakly.

"Of course she can." Fang answered for the smaller Oerban quickly, almost too quickly. Vanille actually let out a giggle.

"They'll be fine, Light," She assured the pinkette, looking up at Lightning, who'd moved into her line of sight, with a smile, "It'll just take some time." At that point, the smile slowly fade, "Time we don't have. You and Fang should go on ahead."

"No." Fang shook her head.

"You need to get to Eve, and Dajh and Hope are still nowhere near fit for travel, let alone put up a fight against anything else that may show up between here and the Faultwarrens."

"We're not leaving you here." Fang remained firm in her opinion of staying together. She felt a hand on her shoulder and felt her fists relax, releasing the blades of grass she hadn't realized she'd been crushing.

"Vanille's right, Fang." The pinkette said softly, understanding of Fang's will to stay but also aware of the bigger picture. They had to continue.

"And if they're attacked while we aren't around?"

"The Cie'th are drawn to Alva, and she—along with the both of us—will be away from here." Fang knew Lightning and Vanille were right. She'd known it before her fellow Oerban had even suggested they go on without her and their two fallen friends. But it didn't mean she had to like it, "Fang, we have to go." The gentle urge from Lightning pulled Fang to her feet.

"Wait." Vanille stopped the soldier and warrior from leaving immediately, "You've both got injuries too." She released a hand from Dajh's shoulder slowly, the green glow fading slightly but was quickly replaced with a transfer from the magic surrounding Hope. She raised her free hand towards Fang. Lightning's brow furrowed, confused at the gesture.

"What-?"

"Vanille, no." Fang cut off her inquiry, "You need to focus on healing them, you'll need the magic-"

"You of all people should know the amount of magic won't be an issue here." Vanille interrupted, her hand remained raised, unmoving, "And you'll both need to be at your full strength." She made a small motion with her hand toward Fang who didn't continue to argue. Instead the warrior stepped toward the Oerban on her knees and took her hand in her own. Lightning watched as there was a flash of blue and green between the two of them and a swirl of magic passed from Vanille, through their linked hands, to Fang. It lasted only a second but as they broke apart, a force seemed to unbalance the darker-haired woman slightly. It took the pinkette another few moments to realized the gash on Fang's arm was completely healed, and there were no signs of any of the other injuries she'd had seconds before.

"What just...?"

"Light." Vanille called, motioning the soldier over with her hand in a similar fashion as she did Fang. The pinkette glanced over at Fang, who was adjusting one of her armbands. The warrior merely nodded, giving Lightning the assurance she needed to reach out toward Vanille. She found herself hesitating at the last moment however, before grasping the small Oerban's hand.

"Brace yourself, Sunshine." She turned her gaze at Fang as she heard the warrior mumble the warning.

"Oh for the love of-" Vanille sighed exasperatedly before reaching and grabbing the Commander's hand herself. No sooner had she done so, Lightning almost felt as if she were struck by a Thundaga spell. There was a bright flash, similar to the one between Vanille and Fang only this time she felt it behind her eye. Her nerves suddenly all jumped at once as a wave of both cold and heat surged through her body. When the grip on her hand was released she came to her senses, only to realize she was stumbling backward. She didn't fall however as she felt Fang catch her, steadying her swiftly.

"What... in the h-hell..."

"Easy there, Sunshine." As soothing as Fang's voice was against her ear, Lightning found it hard to calm her nerves—still on edge.

"Sorry Light," The pinkette found the Oerban medic grinning sheepishly at her, her hand now returned to Dajh's shoulder, "I had to give you an extra kick because of your leg." Pulling herself—somewhat reluctantly—out of Fang's arms, Lightning's gaze dropped down to her leg, now completely healed. Slowly she realized it wasn't just her leg. She felt renewed, replenished; as if she'd just woken up from a good night's sleep. She felt stronger than she'd felt in a long time.

"Feels good don't it?" Fang brought her back to the present, grinning widely at the pinkette's realization of what had just happened, "Something only Vanille can afford to do—with all the magic she has."

"Yes well, now that you're both recharged, you'd best get going." Vanille urged them, "Even if you run as you are now, the Faultwarrens are still quite a ways away."

"We will be back for you." Fang promised the Oerban healer.

"I know you will." Vanille's smile alone calmed the remaining waves of concern in Fang's chest, "Now, start running."

"We might not have to..." Lightning spoke up. Fang followed the pinkette's gaze, finding Alva still standing where they'd left her, though now she looked slightly uneasy, as if wanting to move but waiting for something.

"Wait- you don't mean..." Fang moved to follow the soldier, who already begun to move towards the guardian, "Light, you can't be serious."

"Can you think of a faster way?" Fang grabbed the pinkette as they neared Alva, who had noticed them and seemed to tense even more.

"I can think of at least one safer way."

"I doubt it'd be any safer than doing barrel rolls, riding on Bahamut." Lightning continued to argue.

"Sunshine, falling off is the _least_ of my worries about what you're suggesting." Fang resisted the urge to snort in amusement, "How do you even know if Alva will-"

"Alva." Lightning spoke, catching the guardian's attention fully, "We need to get to the Faultwarrens, to Eve."

"Eve. I must go." Alva dug into the ground with her hooves, as if preparing to leave.

"Wait! Please," Lightning slowly took a step closer to the guardian, "Let us help you. Let us help Eve." Alva seemed to be experiencing conflicting emotions again, backing away but not leaving. Lightning had little doubt it was due to her presence. The fight they'd had years ago hadn't only left Lightning injured. She nudged Fang in the side, earning a startled grunt from the other woman. She turned to find Fang giving her a disturbed look. Lightning merely motioned toward Alva subtlety, cocking an eyebrow in expectation.

"Alva." Fang said through a sigh, stepping in front of Lightning, looking the guardian directly in the eye, "Please."

Alva took another moment to sort out her confusion before finally turning her side to them. The soldier and warrior glanced at each other before stepping toward the guardian. Fang didn't miss the silent _'I-told-you-so'_ that crossed Lightning's face as she helped the pinkette up first before jumping onto Alva's back, behind her. Lightning found herself sinking backward slightly against Fang as the Oerban wrapped her arms around her.

"Best hang on to what you can, Sunshine." Fang whispered into the pinkette's ear as she saw Alva glance briefly over her shoulder before slowly turning toward the path out of the clearing. Lightning had barely managed to get a grip on the armored plates that came up around the side of Alva's front legs before the guardian broke into a gallop.

Still unable to watch but feeling the three leave, Vanille remained, continuing her healing of the two that lay before her. There was a stirring in the First Lieutenant as she noticed his eyes flutter open briefly.

"Be still Hope, everything will be alright."

"The others-?"

"Are fine, Dajh is healing well and Fang and Light have gone on ahead with Alva." Vanille reassured.

"Off... to save... the world again?" The soldier was fading back into unconsciousness as Vanille broke into a smile at the question.

"Absolutely."

* * *

**A/N:**

Blah. RL pwns my face. That is my excuse.  
Lame ass title but _**Tempest Rising (#)**_ was getting old.  
Sooner or later there will be a sketch of Alva's guardian form on my dA. Most likely later rather than sooner but eventually.  
How the hell am I gonna finish this story =\


	42. Imagine This

**Imagine This...**

* * *

Alva ran non-stop with Lightning and Fang on her back. There was no doubt they'd covered more ground than they would have on foot—even if Dajh and Hope had not been injured as seriously as they had. Alva's leg-power had proven to be an advantage, having the ability to easily scale obstacles in the way or jump wide ravines that may have taken precious time to maneuver around. However, her size also had it's disadvantages. Collapsed passageways, narrow cliff edges; on more than one occasional an alternate route had to be found since Alva showed no intention of switching back into human form.

They'd reached the Faultwarrens with relative ease—something the Commander did not take lightly. Lightning had suspected being met with more concentrated resistance as they neared Titan's throne, along with a more frequent waves of Pulse-shifts. Yet nothing; no Cie'th blocked their path and not one Pulse-shift swept the area. Just an eerie emptiness only filled with a haunting blanket of fog.

The two atop her back felt Alva slow to a walk then eventually stop at the mouth of a tall, roughly-arched passageway carved into a towering wall of rock. It took them a moment but Fang and Lightning both recognized the landmark: the entrance to the plateau looking over Titan's throne. Time and time again they'd walked through the wall of stone, pitted against the next monster Titan had chosen for them.

Lightning and Fang decided to dismount, jumping from Alva's back swifty. As she did so, after Fang, Lightning could have sworn she felt a tremble as her hand brushed the side of Alva's front leg.

"Alva?" She asked, moving around so she could see the guardian's face. With the glowing eyes and massive helm, it was hard to read for a facial expression.

"The voice…" Alva eventually said, her voice still hard enough to mask any distinctive emotion behind it, "…it calls to me."

"The voice?" Fang question, "You mean Eve?"

"No," Alva slowly began to move toward the archway, "Titan."

Fang and Lightning shared a look before quickly following Alva through the short yet intensely dark passage through to Titan's throne. As they stepped out onto the small plateau, they were met with what looked like a completely different world.

Almost anything and everything for as far as the eye could see, was either encased in clear white crystal or layered in crystal flakes that seemed to be fluttering from the unknown somewhere above them. Even the blades of grass under their feet snapped, shattered and crunched as the three companions made their way forward toward the middle of the plateau.

The sky above them was clear blue, a defined window in the storm that swirled violently and endlessly yet remained in form, leaving the clear circle of blue above them.

"What is this?" Fang asked the question on Lightning's mind. The pinkette merely shook her head, slowly making her way to the edge of the plateau and looking over. The sea of lava that once flowed beneath—just like the rest of the area—was frozen, encased in crystal yet retained it's orange glow..

"EVE?" Fang's suddenly yell caused Lightning to jump. She whirled around to face the Oerban. The warrior caught her gaze and shrugged, "What? It's why we're here, ain't it?" She didn't wait for an answer before calling out again, "EVE!"

Lightning turned to survey the area again. She had no doubt the Cie'th that had taken Eve would have brought her here, but where? The plateau was small enough but Titan's actual throne, like its owner, was massive. She immediately stopped scanning the mountain across the canyon when she heard the sound of Alva's armor shifting. Turning, she saw the guardian making her way toward the edge.

"Alva?"

"You must go." Came the answer, just a hint of panic in the tone.

"Wha-?"

"You must go now." Alva repeated, raising her shield and readying Zantetsuken. Lightning threw a glance at Fang who shared both her confusion and curiosity. The both of them stepped toward the guardian who slowly began to show she was struggling inwardly with something.

"Alva what's wrong."

"You can't… The only way…" Voice all but trembling now, Alva raised her shield arm to her head, "You cannot be allowed to… fight-don't fight! It must be me, it has to be me-"

"Alva!" Fang moved to stand in front of the guardian, "Alva what's happeni-?"

"Leave! Go! Now!" Alva suddenly yelled, lowering her shield, her eyes glowing brighter than before, "You cannot be here-!"

"Alvara." A voice interrupted in almost a whisper—yet deafening enough to alarm all three of the companions, "What have I told you about being rude?" The voice seemed to echo throughout the canyon making it difficult to place the source. After a few seconds of looking around, Lightning noticed Alva staring hard in one direction. Following the guardian's gaze, she found herself staring at the mountain of rock across the gorge.

At first she saw nothing but crystal-encased rock but a flicker of red caught her eye and brought movement to her attention. When she force-focused her eye to it's limit to make out the figure, it widened at the sight.

"Eve?" Fang's murmur of the Lance Corporal's name reached Lightning's ears but it felt foreign when the pinkette's brain attempted to associate the name with the figure.

Barely her torso remained visible among the mass of rock and crystal that seemed to enclose her limbs—massive replacements that put her standing at least as tall as Alva. The initial encasing was rock, shimmering with a red glow, almost as if lava were flowing through them. Around the rock then came the crystal; armor-like and ending in jagged spikes in more places than not. Half of her head was covered in the same molten rock-crystal armor in a mask or helmet that looked misshapen and incomplete.

"You should treat such honored guests with a little more respect." As Eve continued to walk toward them, she stepped out off the edge of the opposite mountain. When she should have fallen, she remained level. Crystal formed beneath where she placed her feet, effectively creating the beginnings of a bridge across the canyon.

"What did they do to you?" Fang demanded suddenly, breaking free of the speechlessness before lightning.

"They? Of whom do you speak?" The warrior's question was deflected with a taunting inquiry, "The Cie'th? Surely you can't be thinking they have any other purpose than to bring pain and sorrow to those that cross their paths?" The chuckle Eve let out sent a prickly shiver down Lightning's spine, "No this is merely the beginning of my legacy."

"You mean Titan's legacy." Lightning corrected cautiously, observing the advancing figure, noticing the chill in the air that grew more intense with each of her steps.

"Exactly." Another small chuckle, "It may not look like much at present but now that the last pieces of the puzzle have arrived…"

"Would you cut the cryptic shit, Eve!" Lightning had to give it to Fang. The Oerban certainly knew how to cut to the chase, "What's going on here? What's happening to you? What's happening to Gran Pulse?"

"Human connections never cease to amaze me." Eve tilted her head as she turned to Fang, "Did you also think that this human was anything other than a hollow husk for me? A vessel for my soul? An incubator for my existence?" There was no real malice in the tone of voice but the words themselves stabbed through the chests of both Fang and Lightning like jagged glass. The laugh from Eve that followed was the final twist.

"No…" Lightning uttered under her breath. Eve may have been speaking but they weren't her words. They were Titan's.

"How unfortunate you are, humans. Your unfaltering hope twists into misconception that blinds you from seeing the truth. Truths that—would they have been seen and accepted beforehand—would spare you from such pain and anguish." By then Eve had reached the plateau and had effectively connected the two faces of rock with a crude crystal bridge.

"You lie." Fang refused to 'accept' the 'truth' Titan was speaking of, "Eve has memories, feelings, connections—human connections. She exists apart from you." Fang's mind flashed back to the various verbal spats the both of them had. It recalled the time Eve experienced the pain any human would feel having fal'Cie magic surge through her body. The desperate need to protect the one who meant most to her, "Eve, you exist apart from Titan."

"Evangeline _is_ Titan." Eve's voice and Titan's words grew more forceful, bordering on annoyed, "Surely this cannot be so hard for you to see—imagine even. Human imagination is most likely your greatest strength, rivaling even your willpwer."

"We're talking in circles." Lightning cut into the conversation, "What happens now?" She asked—demanded almost.

"I finish what I started ten years ago; reform Gran Pulse into how it should be; mend what you had broken."

After hesitating long enough for Fang and Lightning to notice, Alva charged at Eve, Zantetsuken raised above her head. The action confused the soldier and warrior who had to throw themselves out of the guardian's path. They both watched in utter shock as Alva then brought down Zantetsuken, cleanly slicing off one of Eve's arms midway between the elbow and shoulder. The limb fell to the ground with a heavy thud before slowly dissipating into crystal dust.

Fang and lightning watched as Alva began to circle around for another charge—although as she did so, she raised her shield arm to clutch the side of her head. There was a mumble of curses could be heard—though not quite loud enough to be understood. It looked as though the guardian was struggling against her own actions, if only for a brief moment before she began to advance on Eve again.

"What the-!"

"Alva, stop!" Lightning immediately yelled, "What are you doing?" The question remained unheard as Alva attacked with a stab this time, slicing deeply into Eve's other shoulder. Zantetsuken had cut so deep that it remained caught in the mess of crystal and rock when Alva attempted to pull it out—frantically almost.

Fang had noticed that both times Alva had charged, Eve hadn't moved. There was no doubt in the Oerban's mind that if Alva had any intention of killing Eve, she wouldn't have needed a second attempt—especially against an unarmed, static target. So why was she purposely failing to strike a killing blow? Why was she even attacking Eve anyway? Weren't guardians supposed to guard? And even more bizarre: why was Eve even letting Alva harm her? The questions had her so distracted, she almost didn't hear Eve begin to speak.

"Come now, Alvara." The incomplete fal'Cie raised her remaining arm and gripped the edge of Zantetsuken, "Not once but twice you fail to carry out your true purpose?" With unnatural ease, Eve yanked Zantetsuken from her shoulder, shattering the crystal armor. She then shoved the giant weapon away, actually staggering Alva, "If I didn't know you were doing it on purpose, I'd be deeply disappointed." With a deep breath the broken crystal on Eve's shoulder began to grow and reform the armor that'd been broken. The crystal around the arm that'd been sliced off was doing the same. The rock-armor within it began to glow brighter, bubbling almost as it began to extend and rebuild itself. Before long, it was as if Eve hadn't lost an arm at all.

With a strained cry, Alva thrust at Eve again, but this time Zantetsuken was blocked. Standing between the two was Fang—lance drawn—struggling against the force of the guardian.

"Y'know, any time you feel like explaining just what the bloody hell is going on would be great."

"Oho?" Eve tilted her head at the Oerban but made no attempt to move, "Well, this could prove to be interesting."

"Any time now would be _great_, kid." Fang continued, grunting as even she was having trouble against a creature three times her size.

"Fang-!"

"You're in the way." Alva muttered before pulling her arm back and bringing Zantetsuken down once more. Fang blocked the blow but was sent flying to the side, toward Lightning who immediately moved to steady her.

"Fang what're you-?"

"We go through all this trouble to get here, I want some damn answers." The Oerban pulled away from the pinkette, "Since Alva doesn't look like she wants to talk, my bets are on Eve." Fang flipped her lance around as she saw Alva advancing on the incomplete fal'Cie in question, "And Eve can't be giving answers if she's chopped to tiny pieces." Before Lightning could protest, the warrior ran at Alva to once again prevent her from reaching Eve with Zantetsuken.

This couldn't be happening. It wasn't meant to be happening. Why was it happening? Lightning grit her teeth and clenched her fists as she attempted to sort out the chaos unfolding before her but found it impossible. Fang was right, the best bet on getting answers was through Eve. And that wasn't going to happen with Alva swinging Zantetsuken at her. Her hand moving to her gunblade, she decided against drawing it for now and ran toward Alva. The guardian's focus had shifted to the more immediate threat, lashing out at Fang rather violently.

"Alva, wait, stop!" Lightning jumped, landing on the guardian's back. She clung to what she could to prevent being thrown off as Alva immediately began bucking, thrashing her arms in an attempt to reach the pinkette, "You need to calm down, you don't want to do this!" The soldier was forced to jump away as Alva swung Zantetsuken around. She landed a few feet away, rolling to her feet. Before the guardian could advance on the pinkette, she found herself distracted, blocking a blow from Fang.

"You assume quite a bit if you can claim to know what Alvara does and does not want, Lightning." Eve spoke directly to the pinkette, still unmoving, eyes on Fang and Alva.

"And you do?"

"Of course I do." Eve sighed, almost annoying again, "She _wants_ nothing. I created her with only a purpose, a purpose she _will_ fulfill." As Lightning opened her mouth to respond, Fang landed near her, skidding from the momentum of being thrown by Alva.

"Fulfill what purpose? To turn around and destroy what she was meant to protect?" The Oerban scoffed as she straightened up, brushing herself off, "Not if we can help it." The warrior turned to Lightning, taking a few steps back and lowering her voice, "Light, I need you to distract Alva."

"Fang?"

"Trust me, Sunshine." The Oerban then knelt on one knee, lay her lance by her side and began concentrating on something—meditating somewhat.

"Fang, what're you doing?" Lightning hissed. The warrior looked back up at Lightning briefly, a smirk on her face that—much to Lightning's chagrin—told her she wasn't going to get a straight answer.

"Using my imagination."

Lightning didn't have the chance to push for more as Alva was already on the move toward Eve again. Once again refusing to draw her blade, Lightning took a few steps toward Alva before charging a burst of magic in her hand. As the guardian swung to strike Eve, the Commander slammed her magically charged fist downwards, sending a Quake through the ground. The crystal layering the surface shattered and the ground beneath shook and split, throwing Alva off balance before she could do any damage to her target.

Alva turned to the pinkette, who could see the growing rage in her eyes. Before she could recover and before her attention could be directed back toward Eve, Lightning threw a weak Thunder spell at the guardian. While it was easily deflected by Alva's shield, it successfully earned the pinkette her full attention. Letting out a low growl, the guardian began advancing on Lightning.

"Alva I don't want to hurt you." Lightning tried to reach out to the guardian once more. All she got in response was the sound of Alva's hooves digging into the ground—preparation for a charge. Lightning's muscles tense reflexively, preparing to evade.

"It doesn't seem you have much of a choice, Lightning." Eve spoke through another sneer, "If you wish to remain unharmed yourself."

Lightning easily dodged the first charge attack from the guardian but immediately had to throw herself out of the way of a slash of Zantetsuken and back-flipping out of reach of the shield-bash that followed. As soon as she landed however, Alva had begun another string of attacks. Lightning continued to evade them easily but noticed the guardian wasn't tiring nor slowing down either. In fact, the only thing she seemed to be achieving was increasing Alva's frustration. But it was the only thing she could do while keeping Alva's attention. She wasn't as strong as Fang, she couldn't afford to take a direct hit from Alva.

"Bored now." Eve spoke up again, the tone of voice confirming the statement.

As if taking the announcement as a cue, Alva began to move. Only this time she didn't attack. Lightning watched as the guardian closed her eyes and lowered her shield and sword for a moment—almost as if she were meditating. But only for a moment. Her eyes shot back open and a glow seemed to flash around her for a split second. Raising one leg off the ground, she brought down the hoof heavily. As soon as it touched the crystal something shot through it, zig-zagging it's way toward Lightning who was too bewildered to step away fast enough.

The pinkette felt the surge run through her leg and up her body. It didn't hurt but it made her feel as if suddenly she were chained by the wrists and ankles to lead weights. A soft crackling from below her drew her attention to her boots that were being encased by crystal. It took more strength than she'd anticipated to break herself free from it. It took even more to avoid the slash to her body by Alva, who'd suddenly appeared almost directly in front of her. When did she-?

"Ugh!" Lightning grunted as she was shield-slammed to the side, unable to evade it due to the crystal that had once again formed around her feet. As she skid to a stop on her side, she immediately felt the crystal creeping up and around her body. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself upright, breaking free, only to have the clear layer cling to the next part of her body that touched the surface. eventually, Lightning found her entire right leg encased in crystal, and before she was able to use her fist to break it, a small shaft shot up from the ground to her wrist and spread to shackle her entire arm. In a frantic attempt to reach for it with her other, she realized her left leg had also been restrained. How was it spreading so fast? It was as if the crystal were alive, like it knew she was trying harder and harder to avoid it. As the realization hit her, Lightning stopped struggling and remained still. Just as she thought, the crystal had stopped spreading to enchain her body.

"Figured it out, have you?" Eve's voice directed her attention towards the incomplete fal'Cie, "The more you struggle, the quicker the crystal reacts." Lightning found it extremely difficult to resist the urge to attempt to slap the smirk off Eve's face, "But remaining still isn't something you can afford right now, is it?" Lightning's eyes darted to Alva, who hadn't move since her last attack. Lightning had managed move out of her reach. As she remained still, Lightning concluded that the guardian mostly likely couldn't move while maintaining control over the crystal.

However, the Commander mentally kicked herself as she watched Alva shift Zantetsuken into lance mode. The crystal had pinned her enough to where it was impossible for her to fully evade a lance-throw. She was pinned, cornered, basically a sitting duck. As Alva pulled arm back, preparing to launch Zantetsuken, Lightning's whole body tightened as she prepared to at least attempt a dodge. She could already feel the crystal slowly continuing it's growth at the tensing of her muscles.

Just as Alva went to let the lance fly, she was knocked aside, hard and violently. She let out a pained cry as she was thrown onto her side, Zantetsuken slipping from her grip. Lightning could feel the crystal around her body grow still and loose almost, the spell controlling it now interrupted. But she made no move to break free. She couldn't, she was too busy staring in shock and awe at what had broken the spell. Even Alva seemed too bewildered at her attacker to properly scramble back upright.

"Well, well," Eve voice revealed equal surprise but had an edge of amusement, "This is certainly a surprise."

Alva's attacker stood over her, more or less the same size if you counted the the mass of red, orange and gold appendages extending from her back. Teeth were bared, claws extended, the long ridged tail ending in irregular curves continued to sway back and forth. As Alva finally managed to right herself, she took a few steps away from her assailant, whose purple-scaled body was crouched low, as if ready to pounce at any second. Though its back was turned to her, and though she'd only seen it only once before—at least that particular variation—Lightning knew the form well. Wild, violent and full of rage; she remembered it often in occasional nightmares she'd had of her past—of some of her last moments as a l'Cie. The pinkette was still trying to wrap her mind around it as she opened her mouth to say the name but Alva beat her to it.

"Ragnarok."

* * *

**A/N:**

Not dead yet.  
Art for previous chapter on dA.


	43. Sacrifice

**Sacrifice**

* * *

"This can't be happening." Lightning mumbled under her breath as she took in Ragnarok's form, "Fang?" She uttered even quieter. She found it difficult to swallow the lump in her throat as she got no response other than a bellowing roar.

"Perfect."

"Perfect?" Lightning turned to glare at the incomplete fal'Cie who stared at the two with almost an expression of awe and wonder.

"The beast of that nuisance Orphan and my own creation; a chance to see which of the two is stronger."

"What is this, a damn competition to you?" Lightning jumped at Eve again, only to be evaded and caught by the arm, "Alva and Fang aren't pets you can pit against each other in some sick game!" In an attempt to struggle out of the hold, Lightning was roughly thrown to the side. She used the momentum to roll to her feet, glancing between the two other beings clawing at each other, and Eve who had still not moved much from her spot.

"Arguably not," The incomplete fal'Cie motioned to the two in question, "But they are no longer who you claim them to be. This is a fight between Alvara and Ragnarok."

"You're wrong."

"Alvara was never truly human to begin with," Eve continued, "and Fang clearly sacrificed what humanity she had to summon the beast within her."

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Lightning repeated, yelling this time. She launched herself at Eve, this time with her gunblade drawn. The feeble attempt at a slash was easily blocked. She clenched her jaw as she whirled around, Blazefire Saber still raised, "They're both still human."

"Humans' observational skills—or lack thereof—are even more intriguing than their susceptibility to denial." Eve held out a crystal limb, motioning toward Alva who was currently wrestling with Ragnarok who'd managed to jump onto her back, "Tell me, just how much human do you see in Alvara now? In her true form?" Lightning couldn't help the glance over at Alvara and Ragnarok, "Or Fang, as Ragnarok?"

"It's not about form." The Commander's voice was quiet now, almost shaky as she lashed out again with Blazefire Saber, only to be met with another failure to connect. Another growl of pain as Alva struck Ragnarok with her shield, "Fang is in control."

The commander watched as Ragnarok relentless threw itself at the guardian, forcing Alva into the defensive position. Defense seemed to be Alva's strong point though, for each and every attack by Ragnarok was parried or deflected. However, the unsuccessful attempts to land a hit only seemed to fuel Ragnarok's rage as the beast only increased the frequency and intensity of its assault on the guardian.

"Yes, control... control that is slowly fading."

"She won't lose control!" Lightning yelled, thrusting the gunblade at Eve again. The incomplete fal'Cie caught it between jagged crystals along her arm before twisting it away, causing the commander to shift her focus on not losing her footing.

"Let's test that theory then, shall we?" Lightning moved on reflex to block what appeared to be an attack from Eve but instead felt her reach past her to grasp Fang's lance, from its position leaning against a crystallized plant behind her. Before the pinkette could stop her, Eve launched the lance towards the two beasts.

"Fang!" Lightning's warning was enough to grab both beasts' attention. The smaller of the two flipped out of the way, barely evading the lance as it sunk into a large crystal tree. With Ragnarok temporarily dazed at the interruption, Alva took the opportunity to take a few steps away from her opponent. Lightning watched as Ragnarok grabbed the lance, eyes now on Eve. Though the pinkette refused to let go of her belief in Fang's ability to control her Ragnarok form, she could not deny that it seemed the beast within was getting stronger.

"FANG! WAIT!" Lightning screamed as Ragnarok let out a howl, charging at Eve and Lightning, lance extended. Before the weapon struck its target—Eve or Lightning, the pinkette couldn't really tell—it was jerked aside. There was another roar of pain as Ragnarok was tackled to the side by Alva. Lightning noticed a quick flash of light pass between the two as they collided. Alva grunted as she hurled Ragnarok to the side, ripping the lance from her grasp as she skid to a halt a few feet away.

Lightning stood confused. Alva could have easily delivered a more deadly blow—even without Zantetsuken. Yet she chose to shove her target aside and disarm her instead? Why? Lightning didn't have time to consider the reasons. Before anyone could make a move, the ground beneath Alva began to crumble.

"Alv-!" Lightning started but the guardian had already begun to fall. Though it happened within a matter of seconds, that wasn't what stopped Lightning from making the futile attempt at saving Alva. What stopped the pinkette was the small semblance of a smile on the guardian's face as she disappeared from view. As Lightning slowly approached the edge, she swore she heard a stifled scream from Eve. However, upon turning to the incomplete fal'Cie, though she was staring intently at where Alva had fallen, her face remained as inexpressive as before.

"L-Light..." A weak voice drew Lightning's attention.

"Fang!" Lightning almost cried as she ran over to a curled-up Ragnarok. As the commander reached the creature, a bright orange glow pulsed from the body. As it subsided, allowing Lightning's vision to clear, the pinkette was met with a coughing Fang—in her human form—laying on her side, "Fang!" Lightning repeated, helping the warrior sit up. As she did so, she could feel how much using Ragnarok's form had drained the Oerban. Though weak, as far as the commander could tell, none of the wounds on Fang's body posed any immediate threat to her life.

"Remind me... not to... do that again."

"You're damn right you won't-"

"As touching as your little... moment is, I'm afraid I'm going to have to interrupt." Eve's voice cut in, somehow sounding even more sinister and inhuman than before, "I'm already behind schedule as it is. It seems I underestimated you humans once again—although it didn't help that my guardian was a failure-"

"You can't be... serious..." Fang cut in, wincing as she pulled herself up with Lightning's help, "Alva... Alva died protecting you."

"You are mistaken if you believe keeping Evangeline alive was Alvara's purpose."

"I'm not talking about purpose... or your twisted idea of Alva being nothing but a tool..." Fang continued, voice low, threatening in a way Lightning had never heard before, "I'm not even talking about the guardian. I'm talking about Eve's little sister."

"Fang, wai-"

"Titan and his legacy can burn in hell!" Fang screamed before snatching Blazefire Saber from Lightning's grasp and throwing herself forward, burying the gunblade deep into Eve's gut. There was a crack of crystal as she did so the incomplete fal'Cie hunched over at the force behind Fang's attack. A silence hung in the air for the longest time before Lightning finally heard it. The sound that broke the silence, a low, raspy... laughing?

"What-?" Lightning watched as Fang stepped a couple of feet backwards before falling backward in shock as Eve straightened up. Lightning watched as she reached down and pulled the gunblade from her chest, the wound immediately sealing as the blade left her body.

"While I applaud your willingness to act, the killing blow is not yours to deliver." Eve looked from the gunblade, to Fang, then to Lightning, "Your chance was lost when Alvara's was."

"Wh-What're you...?"

"You can't kill her." Lightning mumbled, but was heard by both the incomplete fal'Cie and the Oerban on the ground near her feet. The pieces began to fall in place in the pinkette's head as Eve seemed to hold out the Blazefire Saber to her, "She can only be killed by a weapon of Gran Pulse... and only then by the weapon's owner." Lightning's gaze drifted to the spot where Alva had fallen—and taken Fang's weapon with her, "It's why she's provoked us but not engaged. It must be some kind of sick set of... condition to Titan's resurrection. Bottom line is Eve has to die for Titan to fully revive."

Thoughts raced through Lightning's mind as she attempted to sort them out verbally. Unfortunately, while pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, some were missing. She still couldn't quite connect all the dots.

"Oooh, clever girl." Eve's voice interrupted the chaos in her head, "You understand now? Evangeline must die in order for me to regain control of Gran Pulse. In order for you and all those you love, to at least... have a chance of surviving." Eve smirked, "Now come, finish what Alvara started."

"No." Lightning said, almost grinning at the flicker of surprised that crossed Eve's face.

"No?" The incomplete fal'Cie let out a loud scoff of what could almost have been disbelief, "So you would let the world die? For one mere shell of a human?"

"I won't let the world end." Lightning stated, her voice unfaltering, "But I refuse to sacrifice anyone else. Especially if it means letting our lives become slave to another fal'Cie."

"You refuse?" Eve repeated, frowning as she lowered the gunblade.

"I will not sacrifice Eve." Lightning remained firm. Honestly, as much as she wanted to save Eve, it was bigger than the Lance Corporal. She'd vowed never to let what had happened ten years ago repeat itself; having Fang and Vanille bear the burden of self-sacrifice by themselves. All because of the stupid sctions of 'gods' they were better off without? Never again. There was another way. There had to be.

"Mmmm... That's really too bad." Eve sighed, her gaze turning from Lightning to Fang, who had finally gotten back onto her feet. Within a fraction of a second, Eve was standing aside the Oerban, looking her in the eye, "I was really starting to like you." Lightning's eyes widened.

"N-!"

"Ugh-!" It happened so fast Fang wasn't entirely sure what happened before she looked down to see the hilt of Blazefire Saber protruding from her gut. A moment later she felt it twist, along with the blade jutting out of her back, and her mouth finally let out a terrifying cry. It almost drowned out the scream from behind her.

"FANG! NOOOOOO!"

* * *

**A/N:**

*gasp*  
That awkward moment... when you try and write something after a month of absence and it's worse than crap...  
Ehehhehehehehehehehehe... yeah, I've totally lost it.  
Brb, off to New York.


	44. It's About Time

**It's About Time**

* * *

"_I loved you."_

"Light?"

"_Still feel like talking?"_

"Light, wh-where are you? I can't see you..."

"_Didn't think so."_

"Light wait! I can't... I can't breath... where are you?"

"_Fang?"_

"Light?"

"_...Fang?"_

"L-Light...?"

"FANG!" Her name pierced Fang's ears as her eyes fluttered between open and closed. A watery blue eye looked down at her with a fear she'd never seen in it before, "Fang! Fang!"

"L-Li..." She choked as she tried to answer the call, something in her throat—thick and metallic—made it difficult, "Light. Th-There you are."

"I'm right here, Fang-" The warrior would have cupped the soldier's face but found her body less than responsive. It was less due to pain than the it was that her body felt like lead, growing heavier by the second.

"Fang! Hang in there, come on! You have to- you have to..."

"Light, I can't..." The growing pit of emptiness forming in her gut was growing into a kind of pain Fang hadn't felt before. It was almost a more emotional pain than physical. And the frantic cries and horrified look on Lightning's face only made it worse, "It's... It'll be okay." She forced out with a poorly concealed wince.

"Okay, just hang on Fang. I'm going to make it stop okay?" The fearful voice was accompanied by a glow that Fang felt encompass across her. But a glow was all it was. The healing spell did little to ease the hurt spreading through her body, "Come on, heal... heal!" Lightning's cries were now sharp and frustrated, "Damnit! Why won't it heal!"

"L-Li... L..." Fang's hand managed to touch one of Lightning's, stopping her for a brief moment, "L-Light..."

"Fang... please just... just stay still." The soldier pleaded, "Stay with me. DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME AGAIN!"

"I..." The commander's fell onto Fang's bloodstained sari as the warrior's breaths became irratic, "I... I lo-" Pained wheezing accompanied by sickening coughs began to fill the air.

"Fang!" Lightning attempted to soothe the other woman's apparently suffering but to no avail, "Fang just... shhh... just..." Words were no use as the Oerban took one last, frantic gasp of air before falling completely still, her hand still clutched around Lightning's. Then there was silence. The air grew as lifeless as the body in the Lightning's arms.

"Fang?" She whispered, scared of not receiving an answer—which she didn't, "F-Fang...?" Trembling, blood-stained fingers traced the warrior's jawline before brushing aside hair from lifeless eyes. Lightning's own eyes grew dark as she slowly closed Fang's eyelids. Cerulean blue turned into a storm grey as she gently lay her beloved on the ground.

Tears blurred the soldier's vision as she slowly pulled herself up out of the pool of blood that had formed around her. No, not tears. Anger. Rage. The blood pool had little to do with how Lightning was slowly beginning to see red. All the pain began to boil into fury, which manifested and radiated off her in arcs of electricity. Fang was dead. Killed. Slaughtered. As if on cue, Lightning's gaze darted to Eve, still standing not five feet away. Lightning made a half-hearted attempt to focus but there was too much rage coursing through her body and mind. There was no Lance Corporal, no incomplete fal'Cie. All she saw was a murderer that needed to be cut down.

"I expected a little more from the one chosen host Ragnarok." Eve's silence-ending words were like needles in Lightning's ears, acid in the back of her throat, "Such a disappointment..." The arcs of electricity danced dangerously around the commander, "Such a waste."

Lightning let out a blood-curdling scream as she finally lost the last slither of control over her fury. She launched herself at Eve, flipping Blazefire Saber off the ground with a boot, catching it and swinging it wildly at her target—now marked for death. Furiously wild, reckless and deadly slashes were thrown at Eve but each were evaded or dodged. This only proved to further push Lightning over the line and off the edge.

"HOW DARE YOU!" She screamed, letting loose a chaotic storm of electrical energy. It hit Eve square on, and while the incomplete fal'Cie wasn't complete unaffected by the blaze of white energy—forced back a few steps by the sheer force—she merely absorbed the brunt of it, redirecting the rest into the ground easily, "HOW COULD YOU!" The soldier didn't seem phased by the ineffectiveness of her attacks, both magical and physical. It only fueled her desire to unleash hell upon Eve, "WHY?" Ruin spell after Ruin spell was unleashed but none of them had much of an effect, merely crackling against the crystal armor.

Lightning let out another bereaved cry as she flipped backwards, folding her weapon into gun mode. She let out a hail of gunfire at Eve, the unstable magical energy around her seeping into her weapon, each shot more powerful than the next until it seemed as though she were firing blasts of white fire at Eve. The recipient of the bullet storm was forced backward into a defensive position. But while she could do nothing but use her armor to shield herself, other than the occasional fragment of crystal being shot off, Eve was still mostly unaffected by the attack.

"Does it hurt Lightning?" The taunting voice twisted the soldier's insides, clutched at her heart and squeezed with a grip as tight as her own on the gunblade in her hand, "Your inability to act ended the one you care about the most."

"Shut up..." Lightning hissed, continuing her assault—continuing to fail to reach her target.

"I'm sorry, cared." A badly timed lunge at Eve caused Lightning to be deflected and countered, "Past tense should be appropriate, I suppose... since she IS dead." A crystal fist buried itself in her gut but she felt nothing. Nothing could match the pain of her anguish coursing through her veins.

"Shut. Up." She grunted, yet again, throwing herself at the incomplete fal'Cie. Blazefire Saber was a blur as Lightning threw all she had into it. Weapon and wielder became one as the Commander disregarded all her combat knowledge and awareness and poured everything into her offensive assault, fully aware it left her dangerously vulnerable to any counter attack by her opponent. She just didn't give a damn at this point. If she had, she would have noticed Eve had had yet to take advantage of the flaw—had yet to take any sort of real offensive action at all.

"How does it feel to lose everything, yet again?" Eve continued her provocation, "To feel the world crumble around you? To feel the life drain from the one you love?"

"SHUT UP!"

"All because you were too stubborn to accept that you can't save everyone. All because you wanted to save me-"

"I WANT YOU DEAD!" Came a scream from the commander that ripped through the air. Just as Blazefire Saber tore through flesh. There was a bright flash of electricity as magical energy exploded from Lightning, through the gunblade and into the chest it was buried in—Eve's chest. Then there was silence.

For what seemed like hours all that was heard were the hard breaths from the soldier. Soon they were joined by an uneven wheeze from the incomplete fal'Cie. The storm behind Lightning's eye began to dissipate as it began to focus. The gentle swaying of the gunblade in her grip caused by the trembling body it protruded from only hastened the return of her senses. She had stabbed Eve's human body—cleanly, through the chest.

"E-Eve." was all that left the Commander's lips before the body jerked suddenly. Lightning's grip on the gunblade slipped as the wounded combatant seemed to stumble backwards, crystal hand clutching at the sword that was slowly beginning to crystallize itself. The remainder of Eve's human body had begun to be engulfed by the crystal, a faint red glow slowly pulsing from the wound in her chest. The sound of grinding rock and crystal filled Lightning's ears before stopping abruptly, plunging her into another eerie silence.

With nothing but half of her face exposed, Lightning tried to catch Eve's eye. When she finally did, she could have sworn she saw a tear escape it before there was a deafening crash as the crystal shattered. The pinkette quickly moved to shield herself from both the flying fragments and the blinding light that exploded from Eve's body. Instead of the sharp crystal shards Lightning expected to pierce her skin, all she felt was an unknown force knock her backwards with such intensity, it felt as though she were knocked out of her own body. The last thing she felt before becoming engulfed in white was weightlessness.

It only lasted for a few moments though. Eventually, blinking at the brightness of her surroundings, Lightning slowly regained her senses, slowly feeling ground beneath her feet. As she grew accustomed to the light around her, she felt her heart sink slightly when the familiarity of where she was kicked in. A long room—almost more of a hallway—lined with unnatural light, adding to the light streaming through opaque windows. On each side, in front of each window was a couch, held up by what seemed like nothing.

"The cradle..." She muttered, already scanning the walls for a way out. In doing so, she began to get the feeling she wasn't alone. Whirling around, she came face to face with Eve. She was fully human, wearing the military uniform Lightning gave her, any evidence of the brutal stab to her chest was gone.

"An ironic title for a place associated with death." Eve's voice was no longer echoed by a god but something told the Commander that Titan wasn't out of the picture. While her guard was up, Lightning did notice the fury that'd pretty much ruled her body and soul had all lulled into a dull aching pain in her chest, "We stand at a crossroads."

"Crossroads?" Lightning frowned while scanning the room again. There was nowhere to go, "Crossroads of what?"

"Of fate." The word sparked a flare of irritation in the commander as her eyes snapped back to Eve.

"What... are you talking about?"

"In killing this body, you successfully allowed for remainder of my powers to be awakened." Lightning's jaw tightened and hand twitched; at both the fact that despite not having his voice, Eve was still talking as Titan; and at the statement of her actions not a minute prior, "However there were unforeseen... complications to my awakening." Eve began to pace as the white walls around them seemed to grow dark. Lightning watched as events leading up to their fight on Titan's throne began to fade in and out—almost as if the walls were acting as video logs.

"These are..." Lightning's eyes danced as she watched images and scenes going as far back as before she'd even left Crystallinus, "These are... Eve's memories?"

"My memories." Eve stated, her tone almost as if correcting Lightning in her mention of the human instead of the fal'Cie, "But I suppose in a way, hers as well." Eve continued to pace, "I... underestimated humanity. It is... much more powerful than any of the fal'Cie could have imagined." Lightning could have sworn she hear Eve behind Titan as she spoke, "But for all it's power—it works like a double-edged sword."

Lightning watched as the image of herself stabbing Eve brutally through the chest flashed before her eyes. A lump formed in her throat as she resisted the urge to look away in guilt.

"Do not doubt your morality," Somehow the words seemed empty to Lightning, coming from Eve, "The conditions of my awakening required the human body to be sacrificed by one who truly believed it had to die." While the soldier understood what Eve was saying, it didn't make her feel any better, "I needed you—if only for a split second—to genuinely believe Eve had to die; to want to truly kill another human. There is something to be said of your humanity if it took such... a drastic measure to achieve that."

This time Lightning did look down; away from the walls that replayed the memory of Fang receiving the same savage, life-ending treatment, by Eve.

"That's... beyond messed up."

"It was the only way to save Gran Pulse... to save your loved ones." The softer tone in Eve's voice caused the pinkette to raise her eyes, "...to save your Oerban."

"Fang?" Lightning's voice cracked as she uttered the name, "She's... She's not-?"

"Her fate is... unknown—as is the rest of the world's."

"So change it." The Commander all but demanded, taking a step towards Eve, "If you're really Titan, you can, can't you?" There was a long silence before Eve responded.

"As I said, my awakening did not go as planned. The early end of the guardian required me to... improvise." Eve said the last word as if using it for the first time, "Alvara was not only the key, but a part of me as well. And with her death before my awakening, that part of me cannot be recovered."

"If she were a part of you, why did she sacrifice herself to save you—to save Eve?"

"As I also said, I underestimated humanity." The walls slowly returned to their original blank, white state, "I was not able to... control it as well in Alvara. Regardless of the reasons, the consequence was a significant loss of power." Lightning frowned again at the disregard to Alva's human side, "I am no longer able to completely restore Gran Pulse to it's original state." The walls began to fade into the slow crumbling of various areas around Gran Pulse. Mountains began to collapse, vast plains began to split and the sky raged with thunder and lightning that set forests on fire. Lightning watched with growing horror at the destruction spreading across the world. Eventually, she saw Crystallinus, then Oerba Neo.

"No-!" She turned to Eve, pointing at the city and village slowly suffering from the world's deteriorating state, "No! You have to be able to do something! Anything! You're a god, aren't you! You ARE Gran Pulse!"

"It is... not that simple."

"Everything you've done—everything you've put us through was to regain the power to fix this! It can't get much more simple than that!" Lightning knew she was losing her cool but the images around her did little to help maintain it, "Eve... Titan... please..."

"You need not beg, Lightning." Eve turned to the soldier, "I do not wish to see Gran Pulse destroyed any more than you do. My plans to rectify the problem have merely... changed."

"So you can fix it?"

"I did say we were at a crossroads, not an impasse." It took just about every last scrap of willpower in her body to resist the urge to lash out and strike Eve across the face, "I have just enough power to stabilize Gran Pulse."

"But I thought you said-"

"However," Eve cut Lightning off abruptly, "It is not enough to restore Cocoon as well." Lightning thought for a moment on the statement.

"What does Cocoon have to do with anything?" Lightning questioned.

"Everything." Eve answered as Cocoon flashed across the walls, withering and crumbling above Gran Pulse, "Gran Pulse and Cocoon are more intricately connected than you can imagine." Eve explained, "Because of how closely they were linked to the fal'Cie, they cannot truly exist without the other. To lose one would upset the balance."

"So eventually this-" Lightning motioned to the destruction taking place across Gran Pulse, "-will happen again? Once your power runs out?"

"Correct." Lightning's heart sank. It wasn't much of a solution at all.

"How long?"

"I cannot say for sure-"

"Guess." Lightning demanded, desperation seeping into her tone.

"Perhaps a hundred years." Eve eventually answered after a moment's pause, "You and your... comrades—Fang included—would be able to live out your lives fully; long before the end would come about once more."

"But it would doom the future generations." Lightning finished what she was sure Eve would have went on to say, "To sacrifice that for happiness now..." The pinkette saw her own flashes of Syd and Noah and knew she couldn't agree to it, "There has to be another way."

"There is." Eve answered almost immediately, as if already anticipating the suggestion, "It's quite simple really: Restore what was originally keeping Gran Pulse stable." The walls, now showing an almost non-existent Cocoon, soon began to seem as if put in rewind. Cracks were filled in, missing chunks were replaced and the glow around it, emanating from the center, began to return. It took Lightning a few seconds to realize exactly what Eve was talking about.

"Fang and Vanille." Eve nodded as the images across the walls switched to the two Oerbans in crystal form within Cocoon, restoring the dead planet to life. The pillar began to glow again, sending pulses of light into the world below, ceasing the destruction taking place, "But, Gran Pulse began feeling the tremors even before they woke up from crystal stasis."

"Together, even as a complete Ragnarok, they were in the same position as I am now." Eve explained, "They may have been enough to prevent the end of Cocoon, but weren't quite enough to preserve it indefinitely."

"But if you added your power to theirs it would be enough." Lightning finished. At Eve's nod, she sighed heavily, "And what about Fang and Vanille?" She had to force the question out, fearful of the answer—though deep down, she knew it already.

"They would be returned to Cocoon to restore balance."

"...Forever?"

"Yes." Lightning turned away from Eve, cursing the fal'Cie under her breath. She walked up to a wall. Like the others, it showed Fang and Vanille crystallized, slowly rotating within the pocket of crystal where Cocoon met the pillar. What kind of sick joke was this? The options of merely delaying the inevitable destruction of Gran Pulse? Or sentencing two of the closest people to her to an endless crystal sleep? To never again be able to see or hold Fang again? She slammed a fist against the wall, "I'm so sick of the sacrifices we have to make because the fal'Cie."

"For the destruction to end, balance must be restored." Eve still spoke in the matter-of-fact tone of voice that got under the Commander's skin, "And to restore balance is to sacrifice." Lightning's hands formed fists again before she pushed off the wall—now fading to its original white—and walking over to Eve, grabbing her by the collar.

"And what would you know?" She hissed, "What would the fal'Cie know about sacrifice? You and your kind have done nothing but cause humanity pain through war and death!" If she were any less frustrated, Lightning would have noticed Eve's lack of struggle against her grip on her collar, "How about you 'gods' sacrifice something for a change? Huh?"

"There is... a third option." Eve spoke after a moment, still unmoving against Lightning's hold. The soldier's brow furrowed as yet again, the growing anger in her was suddenly drained. Removing her grip, Lightning stepped back, as if to signal Eve to continue, "Instead of changing the future of the world directly, it may be possible to indirectly change it by altering the past."

"...What?" Lightning was now officially stumped, too tired to really process the cryptic way fal'Cie seemed to enjoy talking like.

"I can destroy what is left of myself." Eve state bluntly, snapping the Commander to attention.

"And just what the hell would that accomplish?" Lightning was beyond confused. Wasn't Titan a part of Gran Pulse? Wouldn't that mean the fal'Cie's destruction ensure the end of the world? Even through the emotionless tone Eve seemed to speak in, Lightning could believe that Titan was telling the truth about not wanting to see the end of Gran Pulse.

"I am no longer truly a fal'Cie." Eve broke the pinkette's storm cloud of thought, "Even before part of me died with Alvara. Ever since Cocoon's crystallization a decade ago... I was... changed." For the first time, Lightning could have sworn she heard a twinge of pain in Eve's voice, "I am the first and oldest of the fal'Cie. It is the only reason I am still here while my younger... siblings... are not." Eve turned from the Commander as the walls began to cycle through the different fal'Cie of ten years ago. Some Lightning recognized, some she didn't, "But I am little more than a memory; an echo of what the fal'Cie were—not just as an entity, but as an idea, a concept. I am the only thing keeping existence of the fal'Cie alive." The walls began to fade to white again as Eve looked back at Lightning, "For me to cease to exist..."

"It would be as if the fal'Cie never existed in the first place..." Lightning murmured, disbelief evident in her voice, "Changing the past... You're talking about rewriting history... "

"The fate of both Gran Pulse and Cocoon would be free from fal'Cie influence." Lightning put her head in one of her hands, shutting her eyes from the brightness of the room. While she registered Eve's words, it was hard for her to process them fully—even if she did strangely believe them. She did somehow feel that while changing the past seemed like a monumental gamble, it was a better option than the first two she'd been presented with. But what of her friends? Or family? Or...

"What about Fang and Vanille?" She looked back up at Eve.

"The only reason the two of them exist in this time is because of the fal'Cie." Eve replied, "They would be free to live out their lives, free from the shackles of their focus and their destiny to become Ragnarok—but in their own time." Lightning swallowed a lump. She couldn't think of anything better than removing the burden of Ragnarok from the two Oerbans but she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to lose them to the past, "Altering the past would also memories." Eve continued, as if reading Lightning's mind again.

"We wouldn't remember them being here." The pinkette muttered, "I wouldn't remember Fang." It felt like something punched a hole in her heart. The idea that even the pain she felt now would be gone, made her feel that much worse. She couldn't imagine forgetting Fang. She didn't want to. But if it meant the chance for humanity to be free of the fal'Cie... "Why are you telling me all this?" Lightning could have laughed at herself for not realizing sooner. If Titan was really the only one who could change anything, why was he discussing it with her? A mere human? Now that she really thought about it, up until now it was as if Titan were presenting the different options for _her _to choose.

"Even without the fal'Cie, enmity between Gran Pulse and Cocoon would arise." Eve began to pace again, "While it would no longer be controlled by the fal'Cie and fueled by magic, war would still be inevitable. And even without the fal'Cie it would be devastating to both sides." Lightning actually scoffed. Of course, she should have known the scenario seemed 'too good to be true', "The reason why Fang and Vanille were chosen to host Ragnarok was because of their inner strength." The mention of her friends' names brought Lightning back to full attention, "Even without being l'Cie, without their focus of hosting Ragnarok, the both of them were destined to be key figures in Oerba's conflict with Cocoon. However, it is entirely likely that without Ragnarok, instead of destruction they would bring about peace." The idea made sense to Lightning. The pinkette could see Fang leading the Oerbans in battle, and Vanille at her side fighting for peace instead of war.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Again, I bring up the concept of balance." Eve stopped pacing and turned to look at Lightning again, "It is not enough for just one side to want peace. At the time, Cocoon did not have individuals with Fang and Vanille's potential. With the strength to fight for peace. If such an individual existed on Cocoon in that time, all-out war could be prevented." Lightning could practically feel Eve's gaze burning into her but she didn't need it in order to catch the hint. And she now knew reason she and Titan were having the current conversation.

"Wait a minute—you want to... re-write me into history? Into Fang and Vanille's time?" Lightning couldn't really believe the words coming out of her mouth, "Is that even... possible?"

"Yes." Eve nodded, "For you and only you." She must have noticed the questioning look on Lightning's face for she went on to explain, "You could say that the fact you are here now is the only reason the option to alter history even exists." The Commander sighed heavily, turning from Eve to lean against the nearest wall. Her body felt heavy, ironically fitting as the future of humanity was more or less on her shoulders.

"What would you do?" Lightning finally asked—all enmity towards Titan replaced by weariness.

"The logical choice would have been to restore the Oerbans to their place within Cocoon." Eve trailed off, "However, it did not feel... right." Lightning raised an eyebrow at the fal'Cie, "I am... conflicted." Came an unexpected admission, "You can thank Alvara and Evangeline for that." Lightning almost burst out laughing. Eve looked less amused.

"Humanity's a bitch, huh?" Lightning mumbled, sliding down against the wall to sit on the ground. She was so tired. Tired of fighting, tired of losing things, tired of everything really. Even if she was sent back, there were no guarantees she'd make a difference at all, "And if I fail fighting for peace?"

"I do not believe you will fail." Lightning raised her eyebrow, once again, surprised at the response.

"Careful, that almost sounded like something a human would say."

"I am merely taking into account the variables" Eve almost sounded annoyed, "You are a natural-born leader. Whether you believe it or not-" Eve did miss the scoff from the pinkette, "-People will follow you. You have an indimitading amount of willpower. And of course there is your bond with Fang." The smirk dropped from Lightning's face as Eve mentioned the warrior.

"What do you mean?"

"I do not need to be fully human to understand how close you are to the Oerban." Lightning wasn't quite sure how to take the comment, "In fact, you could say it is because of my fal'Cie powers that I understand just how deep the strength of your bond is." The Commander was silent for a moment longer.

"Strong enough for her to remember me?" She asked quietly, "Will I remember her?"

"I cannot know the fate of a world where I would not exist." Eve answered, though the pinkette was barely listening. It was hard for Lightning to even imagine forgetting her feelings for Fang. They'd been so long in the making, growing and changing over years. They'd imprinted themselves on her very soul. And for as much pain they had caused her, she didn't know if she could stand to lose them. No, she refused to lose them, fabric of time be damned.

"Besides, it seems you already know the answer to that question." Eve's voice brought her out of her thoughts, "Which means you have also already made your decision." Lightning pulled herself to her feet before looking into Eve's eyes. The pinkette watched as Eve stepped a few feet backwards until she was standing in the middle of the room, a deep red glow surrounding her. As the glow grew in intensity, the room slowly looked as if it were dissolving.

"How do you feel?" Lightning found herself asking before really realizing. A curious expression crossed Eve's face as her own body began to mimic their surroundings, slowly dissolving, starting at the tips of her limbs.

"About what?"

"Being on the verge of ceasing to exist. Us humans call it dying." Eve took longer to respond than Lightning would have guessed.

"How do you feel?" She eventually deflected with a question, now with only her upper torso left, the red glow now engulfing the space around the both of them.

"About what?"

"Being on the verge of losing all you are now to become one of the key players in the prevention of a war that will redefine the future of humanity." Lightning found herself let out a laugh despite herself. Even through the blur of red she could have sworn she saw a smile on Eve's face, "I believe you humans call that being a hero?"

"More like being crazy stupid, getting in way over your head." Lightning watched as the last of Eve's face finally began to disappear.

"Funny, I hadn't been aware there was a difference." Eve added before she dissipated completely leaving Lightning to laugh with a mixture of amusement and unease.

"There isn't."

The glow was beginning to dim now, her vision growing dark. Doubt started to creep into the corners of her mind and fear began to wrap itself around her heart and soul. Before the light was gone completely, the pinkette shut her eyes, remembering the faces of each and everyone one of her friends, of her family, her loved ones. She reminded herself of what she was doing this for, what was at stake. By the time the weightlessness had set in, all the fear and doubt had been forced away by a renewed determination and her reawakened strength of will.

And after what seemed like decades of nothingness, two cerulean blue eyes opened wide to take in a whole new world.

* * *

Bring on the flames!


	45. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

_"-further reports regarding the decision of the council to continue expansion will be reported this evening. In other news, a group of men were injured today following an accident that occurred just outside an archeological dig-site. The dig-site's supervisor-"_

"-Hope?"

"Wha-yeah, sorry." Hope snapped out of the daze he was in as he watched the local news updates on one of the screens on the wall, "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"What exactly happened? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine Dad, really." Hope shifted the communicator in his hands, "I'm more concerned about the others and the damage done to the dig-site. I finally reach a breakthrough and then something like this happens... I'm just glad we at least got the one artifact before it all went to hell."

"You have to know the risks of digging that deep into the past."

"And you can't blame me for wanting to know more about the people that gave us this future." Hope countered, rubbing the bridge of his nose and adjusting his glasses, "It's like people have already forgotten that Cocoon and Gran Pulse were once at the brink of war."

"I know, I know, and I admire what you're doing son, I do..." His father's voice was genuine, it relaxed Hope, "And I'm proud of you. I just worry about you. So does your mother."

"Hah." Hope let out a small chuckle, "Speaking of which, I may be late tonight, I'm going to have to clear up this mess."

"She's not going to be happy..." Came a serious, almost concerned statement through the comm. device, "You can't leave it until tomorrow? You know how she gets." Hope chuckled again.

"I'll..." While he'd been eager to get started on examining his team's newest find, he imagined his mother's reaction to missing a family gathering—particularly this one. He immediately cringed, "I'll see what I can do."

"Excuse me, sir?" A third voice caught Hope's attention. He nodded at the officer motioning him over to the desk.

"Hey listen Dad, I gotta go, I'll call you okay?" He said before hurriedly closing the comm. device and making his way over to the desk, "Afternoon officer."

"You're the archeologist, correct?"

"Yes."

"Unfortunate event you had today, huh?" The officer was concentrated on typing something into the console he was sitting at. He threw a brief glance at Hope who merely nodded, "Is digging up the past worth the trouble?"

"Easy there Yuj, it wasn't his fault." Yet another stepped into the conversation.

"Sergeant." Hope greeted the new face with a smile. Still standing at least a head taller than Hope and his twenty six years, stood more or less the face of the Sanctum Force.

"Mr. Estheim." The sergeant offered his hand which Hope took without hesitation to give a firm shake.

"Please, call me Hope." The archeologist insisted, "Mr. Estheim is my father."

"More like Councilman Estheim." The officer chuckled, "But sure, only if you call me Snow though. Sergeant is... still a little too official for me."

"My apologies sir, I didn't realize you were Councilman Estheim's son." The officer Snow had addressed as Yuj bowed his head.

"Please, no apology needed." Hope shook his head. The only thing he disliked more than people unwillingness to remember the past was any special treatment he got because of his father having a seat on the Council.

"We're just going to have you fill in some paperwork and you'll be free to go about your business." Snow cut in, whether or not he picked up on Hope's discomfort or not, the younger man couldn't tell.

"You'll be joining the festivities this evening then?" Yuj inquired as he handed Hope a datapad, "Since it _is_ in honor of the solidification of peace between worlds." Hope smiled as he took the device and began filling in the necessary information. The officer had pretty much used the official explanation of the festival: _'Peace between worlds'_. There really was no other way to put it.

"We'll see if I can get this mess cleaned up before then." Hope gave a non-committal answer as he finished up with the datapad and handed it back, "Will there be anything else, officers?"

"Nope, you're good to go." Snow scanned the datapad quickly before handing it to Yuj, "Thanks for coming up here, I realize it's a little out of the way."

"Not particularly." Hope shrugged, adjusting his shoulder bag, "The flow of shuttles between Gran Pulse and Cocoon isn't as chaotic as it used to be."

"Would you like a ride back down? I have to head down there myself actually." Snow offered.

"That's alright, I need to grab a few things before heading back. My assistants are up to who-knows-what down in Oerba so I'll have to go round them up too." The Sergeant gave a laugh before nodding and shaking Hope's hand once more.

"Nice seeing you again, Hope."

"You too, Snow." With a acknowledging nod at Yuj, Hope turned and exited the building.

"You didn't tell me you know the Estheims!" Yuj said, turning from his desk to look up at Snow. The Sergeant gave a lop-sided grin.

"I didn't until a few years ago when I was transferred from the Guardian Corps to the Sanctum Force when they'd started working more closely with the council." He explained, "Amodar needed a representative from the Sanctum Force to attend a few of the official Council events."

"And he picked the newly transferred, former leader of a ragtag band of misfits?"

"Hey! I was young and stupid!" The Sergeant exclaimed defensively, "And I didn't exactly hear you complaining after I suggested we join the Guardian Corps!" Yuj laughed.

"We'd have followed our illustrious leader anywhere." Yuj made a quick flashy gesture with his hands before Snow playfully punched the chuckling officer, he knew that it wasn't a complete lie. He and his friends had been together their whole lives and had found little could separate them.

"Yeah, apparently not quite anywhere." Snow mumbled eventually, thinking about the other half of the old crew.

"You know how stubborn Gadot can be. And Maqui is basically his shadow." Yuj responded seriously, "And it's not like we can just take the 20 minute shuttle-ride to see them whenever we wanted. Or vice versa for that matter." He seemed to think for a moment, "You could ask General Raines to try and convince him."

"And risk him getting arrested for assaulting a ranked officer? Or destruction of SF property?" Snow laughed, "Or both? ...Probably both." He still hadn't figured out why Gadot had an issue with his superior officer. He was a good man, replacing Amodar as General when he became Councilman, "It would take an army to get Gadot to SF HQ." The sergeant added.

"Well, luckily we have one of those." Yuj said with a grin, causing Snow to laugh again, "And tonight's the festival; if we don't see them down there during it, we'll be arresting them after it for drunkenly disturbing the peace up here."

"You're terrible."

"It's the truth and you know it." Snow just shook his head before patting Yuj on the back and checking his watch.

"Well, I'd better run, gotta shuttle to catch." Yuj waved his goodbye as the Sergeant made his way to the side of the Sanctum Force HQ and out onto the shuttle docks. He'd been asked to help with the preparations in the main town under Cocoon where the bulk of the festivities were being held. Sure, each town had their own celebrations—even Cocoon had its own setup—but for the most part, people would travel to Oerba, if only for its link to the reason behind the festival itself.

"Afternoon, Sergeant." A voice knocked him out of his thoughts. He hadn't even noticed his arrival at his platform, nor the shuttle that had just docked at it. He found the pilot of said shuttle in the doorway with his eyebrow raised.

"Sazh." He greeted him with a handshake as he stepped inside, "Right on time as always."

"I know, I take the job way too seriously." The older man sighed, climbing into the pilot's seat while Snow took the front passenger seat next to him, "I should retire already."

"That's what you said last year." Snow chuckled.

"Yeah."

"And the year before that."

"Yeah."

"But what would you do?" Snow inquired as the shuttled pulled away from the dock, "Start a chocobo farm?" The pilot laughed wholeheartedly.

"Perhaps I would. Dajh would love that, that's for sure."

"How is Dajh? You two joining the festivities tonight?" Snow had known the Katzroys for a while. Sazh been a Sanctum Force pilot since long before he'd transferred—probably since before he'd even joined the Guardian Corps down on Gran Pulse. He'd known Dajh as a boy and his own sons once played with him when they were younger but recently had only been seeing Sazh around headquarters and even then only when there was official Council business that required the use of a shuttle.

"Yeah, we'd planned to. But he's been so wrapped up in his apprenticeship down on Gran Pulse, it's hard to meet up with him normally."

"Right, you mentioned he's working on a project down there? For school?"

"Yeah, never figured him for an archeologist-in-the-making." Sazh shrugged, "But hey, as long as he's enjoying what he's doing."

"He wouldn't happen to be working with Hope Estheim, would he?" Snow put two and two together as he listened to his friend. The pilot looked over at him with a raised eyebrow before thinking for a while.

"I'm not sure. He's never mentioned his supervisor by name." He trailed off for a moment, "Bartholomew's son?" Snow confirmed with a nod, "Huh, well no wonder I've never met him—he must spend most of his time digging down into ruins."

"You can't say you haven't been curious about what it was like when Gran Pulse and Cocoon were totally different worlds. At odds with each other no less."

"Honestly I can, I'm too old to be thinking about that kind of stuff."

"You? Old?" Snow scoffed. He received a mock-punch to the shoulder, "But I mean come on, we have a giant festival every year signifying a peace between and the unification of two whole different worlds! You can't say you don't want to know more about the full context behind it."

"I never figured you for a history buff, Villiers."

"I'm not! I'm just saying, you know how the stories go-"

"Yeah, the stories." Sazh cut him off with an amused expression, "How the heroes of Gran Pulse defied both their enemies and their own people in order to prevent an seemingly inevitable war, of course everyone knows the stories."

"You make them sound like fairy tales."

"They don't seem like it to you?" Sazh asked seriously, "How could so few make that big a different in a world that was so vast-" The pilot motioned at the view outside the windows of the shuttle, "-and a world that was so unstable at the time." Snow knew he was referring to Cocoon before the council was formed, "It just seems... a little farfetched."

"I never figured you for a cynic, Katzroy."

"Hey, I know people like the Estheim boy are always uncovering more evidence that says otherwise, I just think that if these... heroes of the past fought so hard for the present we have, we should focus on it."

"...You just don't like parties." Snow stated after another moment of silence.

"You're right. Damn kids and their shenanigans." Sazh said in an equally serious voice. The both of them glanced at each other before bursting out laughing, "What about you and the family? You heading to Oerba tonight?"

"Yeah, Serah's down with her class on a field-trip so I'll be picking up the boys and meeting her and the little one there."

"It's been a while since I've seen the twins, what have the little buggers been up to?" Sazh asked, "Still filling the plaza fountains with bubble-bath?" The pilot grinned at Snow's groan.

"No, thankfully they've grown out of that phase." The Sergeant turned to the pilot with a raised eyebrow, "Though I hate to say it, they were nowhere near as bad as Dajh was." It was Sazh's turn to groan.

"I dunno how you do it." The pilot chuckled, "I could barely handle the one kid."

"I've always wanted a big family." Snow admit, "Serah too, she's always had this thing about being an only child."

"Yeah well, you may be out of the woods with the boys but there's still your little girl you'll need to be worryin' about." Snow laughed at the statement. He knew it was true. His sons may have grown up and were able to take care of themselves but he still had his daughter. He already knew that any experience in raising the boys would help him little with her.

"Guess we both still got our hands full huh?"

"And we love every second of it." The two smiled at each other in understanding just as Sazh's communicator went off, "Speak of the devil." He raised the communicator before flipping it open, "Dajh?"

"Hey Dad-" Dajh swatted the hand that was tugging on his shirt, "-Denzel, cut it out a sec-! Hey, Dad?" He adjusted the comm. device in his hands, "Yeah, no, I'm down in Oerba." He'd scooted away but was still keeping an eye on the friend he was with, "Denzel and I are waiting for our superior to get back. We're at Lebreau's." The young man sitting next to him, obviously wanting his attention reached for him again. Dajh swiftly grabbed his wrist and twisted it, effectively halting any more immediate movement,

"No! Lebreau's a woman." The young Katzroy rolled his eyes and pulled the comm. device away from his head for a second at the response, "No, I meant the restaurant. We're in a restaurant called '_Lebreau's_' which is named after the owner, who just so happens to be a woman." Denzel struggled against Dajh's grip but to no avail, "Am I doing what with-No! Dad, jeez! Look, I was just calling to let you know where I was and that I'll probably meet you here for the festival, okay? I'll see you then." With that he hung up.

"Dude!" Denzel whined, motioning to his arm with his chin, "What the hell?"

"Dude yourself." Dajh let go of his friend, who rubbed his wrist. The darker-haired boy waved the comm. device in Denzel's face.

"Your dad couldn't wait five minutes?" Denzel motioned towards the bar where the owner was talking to a few other customers and lowered his voice, "We finally manage to come at a time where she's around!"

"Look, your little school-boy crush is sweet and all but-"

"Crush? Have you SEEN the woman?" Denzel grabbed Dajh's head and turned it to the woman in question, "How could you _not_ have the hots for that?" Dajh struggled out of the hold and sighed heavily. Denzel was not entirely wrong in his... assessment of the owner of the establishment. They'd heard she was more than easy on the eyes and finally able to see her in person, Dajh agreed she was rather gorgeous.

"Isn't she like... twice your age?"

"Who cares?" Dajh face-palmed at his friend's grin, "I wonder if she'll be around for the festival tonight..." If Dajh could've face-palmed twice, he would have.

"She runs a restaurant in the middle of the town where the festival is being held..." He looked at the light-haired young man across the table from him who stared back blankly, "Of course she'll be here you dope!" Dajh sighed, "Look, Hope will probably be on his way back to Oerba by now, we should get back to the station-"

"Just a few more minutes." Denzel's attention had already switched back to the woman at the bar, "Besides, I already sent him a message telling him where we were."

"...Of course you did." Dajh sighed again, "Why wouldn't you do that after he specifically told us to stay at the station to wait for him?"

"Hey, you were the one that wanted out, okay?"

"For some air!" Dajh defended with a groan, "Not to eye-up some bartender-"

"Hey!" Denzel looked at him with an expression so serious Dajh did a double take, "She's not just a bartender." Cue another face-palm, "Maybe I should ask her out."

"...You haven't even met her."

"Now's a good a time as any." Dajh could tell Denzel was being serious. As serious he was about anything that managed to catch his eye during his impossibly short attention span.

"May I remind you of Professor Nabaat?" It was probably less than a week ago when Denzel was chatting up one of their superior's associates and fellow archeologist. To say the hormonal young man had made a fool of himself would have been an understatement. Not to mention he'd sparked quite the heated rivalry with her own research assistant.

"Hey!" Denzel poked a finger towards Dajh's face, "I coulda totally taken Rosch if that Rygdea guy hadn't stepped in."

"Uh huh." Dajh muttered, his voice flat. The military official that had incidentally been around at the time was probably the only reason Denzel hadn't had a few of his bones broken.

"But c'mon, a date during the biggest party of the year? What could be more romantic?" Once again, Denzel's attention span—or rather lack thereof—struck again.

"By _'party'_, you mean the festival to celebrate the avoidance of a war ensured by the two heroes of Gran Pulse?" Dajh raised an eyebrow at his friend, who thought for a moment.

"You mean the two heroes of Gran Pulse and the savior of Cocoon?"

"Right, of course. The legendary savior." Dajh added. While it was true their latest find could prove otherwise, there really was no solid evidence to the third individual that supposedly helped prevent the war.

"Well, what about the fact that it's said the savior and one of the heroes were supposedly lovers?" Denzel retorted with a smug expression. Dajh's eyebrow only arched further.

"And what about the fact that all three were_ supposedly _women?" Dajh made a jab at a time earlier where Denzel had been dead set on the belief that the heroes of Gran Pulse were male; before it was proven by written accounts stating they were, in fact, female. The statement seemed to stump Denzel for a while. But eventually he broke into a grin. A grin Dajh had learn to be wary of.

"Well that just makes it all the more hotter, doesn't it?" Dajh gave up, "I mean, the fact that they were from opposing sides? Then the fact they were both women? Star-crossed lovers much? You can't deny it must have been a pretty big part of how they managed to accomplish what they did."

"Why Denzel, you're such the romantic." Sarcasm dripped from Dajh's words. Denzel seemed, for the most part, unaffected.

"Take some of our latest finds; They were entries—official, historical entries in the old language of Gran Pulse—containing descriptions of the relationship between two of the people involved. But written as if by someone not actually involved."

"So one of the heroes wrote about the other's relationship with someone else." Dajh waved a hand, staring at his friend quizzically, "I guess it is kinda strange they found it so important to have an official record of it."

"Maybe she was as big a romantic as I was?" Denzel suggested, "Maybe she felt it was _that_ important to be written into history?" Dajh sighed. What do you know, Denzel could actually make a convincing argument when he tried, "Or... maybe she just liked to watch." And... just like that the magic was gone, Dajh thought.

"You're an idiot." The young Katzroy stated, deadpanned.

"What? You know how the saying goes: Good things come in threes?" Still, Dajh remained unamused, "Come on, a little Neapolitan? Who doesn't like ice cream?"

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." Dajh looked away, rolling his eyes. He caught something by the bar that replaced his disdain with amusement, "But speaking of ice cream..." He caught Denzel's eye and motioned to the counter and watched with a growing grin at the smirk on his friend's face immediately fell.

Lebreau had moved from the customers she'd been talking to and was on the front side of the bar next to a young boy, probably no older than 10 or 11, handing him a small ice cream bar. The boy had obviously been crying but his face immediately lit up at the sight of the treat and he wasted no time biting into it.

"Man... beaten to it by a little kid-" Dajh let out a laugh even as he felt Denzel kick him under the table. He almost didn't notice another potential customer walk into the restaurant.

"Noel! Thank goodness!"

"Hello..." Denzel immediately muttered as both young men observed the scene at the bar.

A woman, probably in her early to mid twenties had made her way over to the Lebreau and the boy. The restaurant owner may have been gorgeous but the light-haired woman was nothing short of stunning. Fair skin, champagne-colored hair, sky blue eyes and the face of an angel; if Dajh hadn't recognized her, he'd probably have been as mesmerized as Denzel.

"Serah?"

"Serah? Denzel repeated, the name snapping him out of his daze, "-wait, you _know_ that beautiful creature?" Denzel held Dajh gaze as if clutching it with a fist.

"Yeah she's a friend of Hope's-" He could already see the could-you-introduce-us line forming and immediately continued to prevent being cut off, "And her _husband_ is a friend of my dad's." The young Katzroy almost feel pity at the crestfallen look that appeared on his friend's face, "I used to play with her sons when I was younger." Denzel sighed heavily. Dajh found himself actually making a silent apology.

"Thanks, Lebreau." The both of them turned back to the scene across the room, "I swear one of these day Noel, you're going to run off and no one's going to find you." Lebreau laughed as she watched Serah checking to see whether the boy was hurt with the utmost look of concern on her face, despite scolding him.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Villiers." The boy's apology seemed genuine but Lebreau knew it wasn't the same as saying he wouldn't do it again. She pat the boys head.

"Boys will be boys, huh?" She was met with a pained expression.

"Don't remind me."

"Hey, I know the feeling. I was a member of NORA too, remember?" Both women laughed as Serah guided Noel off the bar-stool. He was still rather taken with the ice cream treat to resist much, "We all expect to see you and the kids here tonight by the way."

"Oh, I'm sure we'll make it here eventually." Serah assured with a smile, "Thanks again for calling me and watching him." The pinkette motioned to the boy who'd taken her hand. Lebreau merely nodded, "Come on you, the rest of the class is waiting. You'll have to apologize to them for that, you know this right?"

"Yes Mrs. Villiers." Came a distracted response. With one last silent thank you to Lebreau, Serah led her student out of the restaurant and back down the street towards where she'd left her students with a Guardian Corps officer.

"Ah! See you've found the little adventurer then?" The officer greeted her with a smile. Noel pulled away from her hand to join the other children who were playing amongst themselves in the grassy area of a small public park.

"Yes, thanks again Maqui." Serah smiled at the man, who grinned widely and gave a salute.

"Anything for you, Serah." There was some chatter on the radio the officer had on him, immediately grabbing his attention, "Ooop, gotta run, I'll see you later Serah!" He said, already jogging off down the street. Serah just waved before turning back to her class. Noel had already seemed to be captivating the others with the tale of his little 'adventure'. He always was one to wander. He was almost as bad as her daughter. She was more sneaky about her wanderings.

Her eyes landed on a girl near the edge of the clearing, sitting and watching the other children. She was smaller than most girls her age—probably getting it from her mother. She had her father's blonde hair but with steaks of light pink down the ends. Her eyes were a slightly darker shade of blue than Serah's. She was so different from her sons and as much as she'd like to say it was because she was female, Serah always felt like the reason was something else entirely.

She kept her eyes on her daughter as she led the children back to the museum—an older dig site that had been converted a few years ago. She was glad her daughter had brothers though. Her entire life she'd felt like something was missing, wrong even, being an only child. She'd always wanted an sibling, an older sister perhaps. So while all her children had been—and to a point still are—handfuls, she was thankful for each one.

"Okay now, you all know about the festival tonight-" Her kids cheered as they entered the museum, "-but do any of you know the full story behind it?" Her students' mixed bag of expressions—ranging from thoughtful, to confused, to completely blank—answered for them. She chuckled before guiding them through the large, main room which contained relics and artifacts found in the ruins under the museum. Most of them consisted of images carved into rock.

"Gran Pulse and Cocoon weren't always at peace with each other. There was a time where the two worlds were headed for war with one another." Serah began the story, using what artifacts were available to provide visual aids, "Both Gran Pulse and Cocoon experienced conflicts within their own people for a long time, it made them fearful of the other world."

It was likely every child raised on either Gran Pulse or Cocoon in the present would have heard stories of the peace made between the two worlds, but never how it came about, and the history that came before it. Serah was one of the people that believed the struggle before the peace should be acknowledged in order to prevent anything like it happening again.

"And then Fang and Vanille came!" Noel suddenly cut in. Serah sighed but smiled at the boy's enthusiasm.

"Yes, Oerba Yun Fang and Oerba Dia Vanille." Serah recited the two names most closely associated with the peace between worlds, "They did something much harder than standing up to their enemies. They stood up to their own people and united them under a banner of peace. They helped the people of Gran Pulse overcome their fear of Cocoon."

"They were heroes!" Noel cut in excitedly once more. Serah chuckled.

"Yes, they were." She'd reached the last sets of artifacts that included visual markings of the story, "But what about Cocoon? What prevented Cocoon from going to war?"

The pinkette could understand the lack of response. The reason behind Cocoon's withdrawal was discovered much later than the actions of Fang and Vanille. And even so, it was still not completely clear of what exactly had happened. What was clear was that a third individual had essentially done the same thing as the heroes of Gran Pulse; only took it a step further and also ensured peace between both worlds. It was this feat paired with the current lack of physical evidence that gave the third character of the story a more legend-like status. Even among those who appreciated what had happened a century ago, there were those who believed the legend and those who didn't.

"The savior of Cocoon." Another student spoke up. Serah's eyes landed on her daughter who was actually standing by a newer display of a stone tablet, partially covered but a red sheet. Next to the display stood a rather hard-to-miss _'Do not touch' _sign. The school teacher sighed, suspecting her daughter had again let her avid curiosity get the better of her.

"That's just a legend." Noel spoke up again, "They wasn't actually real."

"She _was_ real." Blue eyes flashed a glare towards the boy.

"Was not!"

"Was too."

"Was not!"

"Alright, that's enough you two." Serah warned, heading over to the other display.

Noel huffed as the girl motioned towards the tablet, "It says it right here." Serah's eyebrows shot up as she reached her daughter.

Upon taking a closer look at it, Serah saw the tablet had script etched into it but it was all in the old language of Gran Pulse. An ancient language that had long since been forgotten over the past century. Even dedicated archeologists that had studied texts for years were only barely scratching the surface in terms of translating. Serah had even attempted to study it herself and while she'd picked up on it faster than most, was far from being able to just pick up any scripted tablet and read it like a book.

"You can read what it says?" Serah knelt down next to her daughter, looking between her and the tablet. Her daughter's eyes didn't leave the tablet, it didn't actually look as if she were reading it, she just seemed to be staring at it—as if almost listening to something.

Serah placed a hand on her daughter's back, "Averia?" At the mention of her name, the girl turned and looked back at her mother, a strange spark in the her deep blue eyes that Serah couldn't quite read.

"Her name was Lightning."

And as a sudden, peculiar wave of nostalgia swept through her; with a sense of pride other than that of her daughter's affinity for ancient Gran Pulsian, Serah smiled.

* * *

Okay. So.

Firstly, I apologies. I did not handle the last few chapters as well as I thought. I made a bad call and decided to change the ending at the last second because I was afraid of having the typical boring fairy-tale ending. But apparently whatever I was trying to do kinda... ran off somewhere and left me behind

**W***

Secondly, I will probably end up posting the first version of the ending. Eventually. Also, if I haven't totally alienated the followers of the story, I'll probably post an entirely different fanfic about what happens with Lightning after Chp 44. But we'll see how much hate this chapter gets.

Thirdly, it's been fun, regardless of whatever the hell happened in the last few chapters. And again, there probably will be a continuation for Light-in fact the reason why this chapter took so long was because I couldn't stop thinking about what happens with Light in the alternate time. But I wanted to close this piece and have that as a separate fanfic.

...If I haven't burned to death in flames.

**EDIT Continuation _'Final Fantasy Alter XIII'_ is now in progress, located in the crossover section between FFXIII and XIII-2 /EDIT**

Also, leaving this as incomplete for when I upload the alternate ending or some of the other random scenes/chapters I started writing and ended up leaving out.


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